Last year was the first time that the college football world got a new college football video game in over a decade. College Football 25 paid a lot of respect to the Ohio State football program, ranking them in the top five in both defense and offense. It was the correct ranking.
This year, the Buckeyes will lose 15 starters from that national championship-winning team. Still, they should be considered as one of the favorites to win it all and repeat as champs. They have two of the best players in all of college football on their roster.
Apparently, having Caleb Downs on the roster isn't good enough for College Football 26 to think highly of Ohio State's defense this season. They failed to put the Ohio State Buckeyes in the top four of the best defenses in the country, despite how strong their back seven is.
The Ohio State football team gets disrespected by EA Sports College Football 26's ranking of its defense
Below is a list of the teams that they have in the top ten in the country in terms of defense, along with their rankings.
The best defenses in the game, led by the Crimson Tide 🔒 #CFB26 | @AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/bw3nn5KzCj
— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) June 27, 2025
Texas and Penn State are going to be pretty good on the defensive side of the ball, but the Buckeyes had no issues carving up both en route to a national championship last year. Having Alabama as the top defense is the most absurd issue on this list, especially based on their performance last year.
The Crimson Tide lost three games last year in the regular season. They gave up at least 24 points in all of those losses, including 40 points against Vanderbilt. They even gave up 35 points in a game that they won against Georgia. That's the best defense in college football?
The Buckeyes have a better defense returning than Bama does. Even with a new defensive coordinator, it would be shocking if Ohio State didn't have better numbers than Bama this year. Players of this video game can quickly change those rankings.