The biggest week of the year for video game players has arrived with the release of EA Sports College Football 2025. It’s the first new installment in the hugely popular video game series in over a decade, and gamers across the country are eagerly awaiting their chance to see what the game has in store.
Also interesting is that the game features real-life rosters, a change made possible by NIL rules that didn’t exist when EA Sports stopped making video games after the 2014 edition.
One of the effects that having real rosters has on the game is that it allows fans to get to know the real players across the country better. Additionally, real rosters can spark more discussion among fans who think their favorite players may not be high enough in the ratings.
So let’s take a look at five Texas Tech football players who are under-rated in video games: Let’s start with the most important player on the Red Razor roster.
Perhaps the worst ranking of any Texas Tech player is quarterback Beren Morton, who is rated just 81 and severely underrated in the video game.
To understand this ranking, consider that former Tech QB Tyler Shaw, who now plays at Louisville, has a rating of 84. Similarly, Houston QB Donovan Smith has a rating of 83. Neither quarterback is better than Morton, which is why both had to move on to find starting positions after a few seasons with the Red Raiders.
The folks at EA Sports likely only considered Morton’s modest 2023 performance when ranking him. They likely don’t know that he played through a severe shoulder sprain all of last fall, which held back his performance. Morton is better than Shaw and Smith, and he’ll prove it this year, so long as he can stay healthy.
Still, anyone who follows Texas Tech football already knows the Red Razor playmaker is a better player than his game-time rating suggests, and he should be rated on par with Shaw and Smith, with a rating approaching around 90 by the time the 2026 games roll around.
In college football video games, a rating of 85 isn’t bad, but you’d think that Ben Roberts, the Big 12 co-freshman of the year, would get a rating of at least 90.
After all, Roberts had a great season last year, piling up 107 tackles in just 12 games to lead the Red Raiders, so there’s reason to wonder why he isn’t more highly regarded.
First, he’s not playing for a big-name program. Second, he’s not an athletic genius, something video game makers value when ranking players. And he’s only a redshirt sophomore, so he hasn’t had time to build a name for himself nationally.
The Haslett, Texas, native is Tech’s highest-rated defensive player, which says a lot about how the game views the Red Raiders’ defensive end. Roberts is a promising star who could do wonders in 2023, so don’t be surprised to see his ranking rise even higher next summer, especially if he has another 100-tackle season.
Just like in the real world, in video games, outcomes often hinge on crucial field goals, so Texas Tech fans and those who play the Red Raiders might not have much confidence in the video game version of Geno Garcia, ranked #74.
Gamemakers must have glanced at last year’s overall statistics to determine how to evaluate Garcia, and on the surface, his 72.7% field goal percentage in 2023 was mediocre at best.
But Garcia has been a different kicker since Week 2 of last season. In fact, after the third game of the season, he was just 12-14 (85.7%) successful in his kick attempts.
Garcia also showed off his leg strength by making three field goals of 50 yards or more last season, including a 55-yarder against TCU.
Excluding a disastrous Week 1 loss at Wyoming, where Garcia missed three of his five field goals, he was an 82.3% successful kicker last season, so anyone paying serious attention to his performance in 2023 will know he deserves at least an 80 on the video game.
Video game ratings are typically based on measurable factors like size and speed, so it’s a bit surprising that tight end Jalynn Conyers is rated just 87. That’s because he’s the most talented athlete at his position.
The Arizona State transfer is a great athlete at 6-foot-4 and 265 pounds and has played quarterback when the Sun Devils ran in the “wildcat” formation, including a 39-yard run in a win over Arizona last season.
Conyers’ lack of a 90-point rating is due to his lack of production — he has yet to reach 500 yards receiving in a season and is well shy of 1,000 for his career.
So, once again, the folks who made College Football 2025 relied solely on stats to evaluate Red Lazer. He is far more versatile and athletic than most tight ends in the country and should be evaluated as such.
Finally, let’s look at a player with no stats available: Micah Hudson. The freshman wide receiver has a game rating of 80, which seems low considering his history.
According to 247Sports.com, he was the No. 25 player in the nation and the No. 5 wide receiver in the class of 2024. Therefore, you can expect a higher rating in the video game.
For example, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, who is considered the nation’s No. 1 wide receiver, is rated 84. There isn’t a huge difference between the No. 1 and No. 5 receivers in any class, so Hudson should be close to Coleman in terms of game rating.
In fairness, a rating of 80 is pretty generous for a freshman, but Hudson is more than just a freshman and will likely prove by the end of the season that his ranking is below where it should be.
