Ohio State football team has the best defense in EA Sports College Football 25
By Ryan Stano
![Dec 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke (10) celebrates a tackle during the first quarter of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against the Missouri Tigers at AT&T Stadium. Dec 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke (10) celebrates a tackle during the first quarter of the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic against the Missouri Tigers at AT&T Stadium.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3000,h_1687,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/151/01j1daj6fm513b0jfff1.jpg)
The Ohio State football team had one of the best defenses in the country a year ago. We have talked about their great stats at great length this offseason. The secondary was elite and it will only be better now that they added Caleb Downs from the transfer portal.
Sonny Styles now moves from safety to linebacker. His ability to get downhill in a hurry will help a unit that has the least amount of experience on the entire defense. It's a defense that is stacked from the defensive line all the way back to the safety position. It's probably the best defense in the country.
EA Sports seems to agree. They released their offensive rankings for the College Football 25 earlier on Thursday and they ranked Ohio State fifth in the country with an 89 overall rating. On defense, they have decided that no one is better than the Buckeyes. They are ranked first with a 96 overall rating.
This makes sense when you look at the rest of the country's defense. In fact, EA Sports thinks the Ohio State football team is significantly better than anyone else on that side of the ball. Georgia is ranked second with a 94 overall rating. That two-point difference is pretty significant.
Four Big Ten teams are ranked in the top ten. Oregon is ranked third with a 90 overall rating, Michigan is seventh with a 90 overall rating as well, and Penn State is 9th with an 88 overall rating. The Big Ten had three of the best defenses in the country last year, so that makes sense.
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EA Sports College Football 25 comes out on July 19th. They will release their overall team rankings on Friday. I would be shocked if Ohio State isn't ranked either two or three. Only Georgia and maybe Oregon have a case to be ranked ahead of them according to these offensive and defensive rankings.