College Football 26: EA Reveals New Mode Details and Top 25 Team Ratings

EA Sports has shared new details regarding the competitive modes in College Football 26, including Ultimate Team and Road to the College Football Playoffs.

The Ultimate Team mode will feature completely new card art, giving artists more freedom to create unique designs. Card readability has also been improved. This year, EA is putting more focus on limited-time events, offering thematic challenges linked to current college football happenings.

Another change is the replacement of Solo Battles with Study Hall as the main single-player mode in Ultimate Team. Each week, Study Hall offers a series of 12 games with gradually increasing difficulty. The better players perform in these challenges, the greater their rewards will be.

Sets are also shifting focus, becoming more collection-oriented. There will be fewer sets per program, but the rewards for completing them are being improved. Selling surplus items will also be more beneficial, as the Training Store will feature more program-based cards in CFB 26.

The popular Road to the College Football Playoffs mode is expanding: it will now feature twelve games per season instead of ten in CFB 26. While all wins grant valuable ranking points, triumphing on the road provides an additional bonus, especially against a strong opponent. More information about the opposing team is also provided, allowing players to formulate a strategy in advance. Each season, the twelve best teams in a division qualify for the playoffs.

As a first look at the ratings, EA Sports has also revealed the list of the top 25 teams in CFB 26 based on overall rating, as well as offense and defense rankings.

Here are the top teams in CFB 26 by overall rating (OVR):

1. Alabama Crimson Tide | 89
2. Texas Longhorns | 88
3. Ohio State Buckeyes | 88
4. Penn State Nittany Lions | 88
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 88
6. Georgia Bulldogs | 88
7. Clemson Tigers | 88
8. Texas A&M Aggies | 88
9. Oregon Ducks | 86
10. LSU Tigers | 86
11. Miami Hurricanes | 86
12. Florida Gators | 86
13. Texas Tech Red Raiders | 86
14. Arizona State Sun Devils | 85
15. Michigan Wolverines | 85
16. Ole Miss Rebels | 85
17. Oklahoma Sooners | 85
18. Indiana Hoosiers | 85
19. SMU Mustangs | 84
20. Tennessee Volunteers | 84
21. Missouri Tigers | 84
22. Auburn Tigers | 84
23. Duke Blue Devils | 84
24. South Carolina Gamecocks | 82
25. Illinois Fighting Illini | 82

Although the Longhorns are only second in overall rating, they claim the top spot when it comes to offense:

1. Texas Longhorns | 91
2. Penn State Nittany Lions | 91
3. Ohio State Buckeyes | 91
4. Arizona State Sun Devils | 91
5. Clemson Tigers | 89
6. LSU Tigers | 89
7. Alabama Crimson Tide | 89
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 89
9. Florida Gators | 89
10. Miami Hurricanes | 89
11. Indiana Hoosiers | 89
12. Texas A&M Aggies | 89
13. Georgia Bulldogs | 87
14. Oklahoma Sooners | 87
15. SMU Mustangs | 87
16. BYU Cougars | 87
17. Baylor Bears | 87
18. Texas Tech Red Raiders | 87
19. Oregon Ducks | 85
20. Ole Miss Rebels | 85
21. USC Trojans | 85
22. Boise State Broncos | 85
23. Iowa State Cyclones | 85
24. Nebraska Cornhuskers | 85
25. South Carolina Gamecocks | 85

However, Alabama strikes back in the defensive rankings:

1. Alabama Crimson Tide | 96
2. Texas Longhorns | 94
3. Penn State Nittany Lions | 94
4. Georgia Bulldogs | 92
5. Ohio State Buckeyes | 92
6. Michigan Wolverines | 92
7. Oregon Ducks | 92
8. LSU Tigers | 92
9. Texas Tech Red Raiders | 92
10. Clemson Tigers | 90
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 90
12. Texas A&M Aggies | 90
13. Tennessee Volunteers | 88
14. Indiana Hoosiers | 88
15. Miami Hurricanes | 88
16. Duke Blue Devils | 88
17. Oklahoma Sooners | 88
18. Illinois Fighting Illini | 86
19. Kansas State Wildcats | 86
20. Ole Miss Rebels | 86
21. Pittsburgh Panthers | 86
22. South Carolina Gamecocks | 84
23. Arizona State Sun Devils | 84
24. Iowa Hawkeyes | 84
25. Florida Gators | 84