MUNCIE — College football season has not yet returned to campuses, but it is returning to video game systems across the country this week.
EA Sports College Football 26 officially releases on Thursday, July 10, but was released on Monday, June 7, for those who pre-ordered the deluxe or MVP editions of the game. This summer marks the second year of the video game after its revival under new NIL rules.
Just like last year, the game will serve as an introduction of 136 FBS teams and thousands of players to gamers across the country. Unfortunately for Ball State football, the game developers didn’t exactly help the Cardinals make a strong first impression.
Ball State is rated as a 68 overall team — tied with fellow Mid-American Conference team Kent State for the worst team in the game. The Cardinals’ 67 offense rating is among the 15 lowest in the game, while their 60 defense rating is tied with Akron — another MAC rival — for the lowest in the game. Running back Qua Ashley was the only Ball State player who received an individual rating higher than 80 overall.
Of course, it’s just a video game. None of the teams in the game have actually taken the field for a real game yet, and these ratings are just arbitrary numbers until they do. Team and player ratings will change as the game is updated throughout the season, so it’s not like Ball State is stuck at the bottom either.
But the low rating may actually be a blessing in disguise for Ball State football.
‘It’s only fuel for us’
Naturally, players are made aware of theirs and their teams’ ratings pretty quickly upon the game’s release. For teams like Ball State who get the short end of the ratings stick, the early designation as an underdog can serve as solid bulletin board material.
“We don’t really pay attention to what the media is saying about our team,” Ball State defensive tackle Darin Conley said. “Only the 105 guys that we got on our team know what we got and know how strong and powerful we are. So I think with those ratings, especially for the defense, it’s only fuel for us in the future, and I feel like it’s definitely going to change when people see, when it comes Week 1, the work that we put in the offseason.”
The Cardinals can always improve their ratings, as EA updates rosters throughout the season and rewards good performances with ratings increases. The best way to do that is simple — winning games.
“It’s unfortunate, obviously, to see your team be one of the worst on the game,” quarterback Kiael Kelly said. “But it is just a game, and that doesn’t win football games, so we understand that as a team. We also know that we didn’t help ourselves too much. We only won three games last year, so we know that us winning comes with the benefits, and one of those, hopefully, would be a better rating on the game.”
Outside of a free motivational tactic, the new video game has other perks for the players. For one, college football players are compensated by EA for the use of their likenesses. Players who opted in to this year’s game will reportedly be paid $1,500 — up from last year’s $600 —and receive a free copy of the game.
But being in the game means more than just a paycheck. For Ball State players and college football players across the country, the new video game represents a childhood dream manifested. Many of them grew up putting themselves into Madden or other football games, and the return of college football games gives them the chance to play as themselves more directly.
“A lot of people waited so long, and it’s like a dream come true to be part of this game,” Kelly said. “Just seeing your name in it and getting a chance to play as yourself, you did it as a child.”
For Kelly, this year’s game was even more special because it allows him to play his proper position. In last year’s College Football 25, Kelly was Ball State’s starting quarterback on the game’s release date, but the first roster update had him moved to cornerback to reflect Ball State’s initial depth chart. Even though Kelly moved back to offense last season, that was never reflected in the video game, and his virtual self was stuck on defense all year.
Now, both virtual Kelly and real-life Kelly are back at QB, and he’s already having fun with it.
“I didn’t really realize how much it mattered to me until they did that,” Kelly said. “Being at corner and people coming to me like, “Oh, I tried to play with Ball State, and they got you at corner!’ For the new game to come out and me being back at quarterback, it felt good to load into the online games and play as myself.”
Ball State football will be a popular rebuild in College Football 26 Dynasty Mode
One of the most popular game modes in College Football 26 — if not the most popular — is Dynasty mode. Dynasty allows gamers to take full control of a school, playing a full schedule of simulation games as their chosen team while recruiting fictional high school stars to reload the roster as players graduate or go pro. The goal, of course, is to lead your team to the College Football Playoff and win a national championship.
Picking elite programs in Dynasty mode is a shameful act in the College Football gaming community. Nobody respects a gamer who starts with one of the Alabamas or Georgias of the world and cruises to the CFP every year while scooping up every five-star recruit.
Instead, Dynasty mode is best enjoyed by selecting a small school with low ratings and rebuilding them into a powerhouse. This makes the lowest-rated teams some of Dynasty mode’s most popular, thus nudging more gamers towards Ball State. In fact, James Bordeaux — one of the most prominent College Football 26 YouTubers — chose to play with Ball State in an hour-and-a-half long video detailing the game’s recruiting system.
This potential uptick in popularity could be profitable for the university. In addition to the players getting a raise, EA Sports will also pay royalties to schools based on how often gamers play with them. For example, according to Cllct, if the university pool is $5 million, if there are 700 million total games played on the video game, and if 7 million of those games are played with Ball State, then Ball State would receive 1% of the $5 million pool — $50,000.
Last year’s game became the most popular sports video game of all time with more than 1.7 billion streams. This year’s edition may not reach the same heights, but the new royalty set-up combined with the popularity of Dynasty mode rebuilds could provide Ball State with a nice financial boost.
Contact Cade Hampton via email at cbhampton@muncie.gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.
