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It may still be the dog days of June, but the college football season is right around the corner.
And the excitement is always palpable.
Part of that excitement comes from the annual release of EA Sports College Football video game franchise, which made its triumphant return two summers ago ahead of the 2025 season.
While the excitement isnt quite as high as it was when the game ended its 11-year hiatus two summers ago, its still an exciting time for college football fans everywhere when details begin to be released.
Ahead of the new games release on July 9, EA Sports and the games developers have begun to reveal overall ratings for both teams and players in the new edition, including the Ohio Bobcats.
The release provides good insight into how some of those involved in the games development and around the country feel about the new-look Bobcats, who are entering the first year of the John Hauser era amid one of the programs most successful stretches in history.
Ohio checks in as the third-highest rated team in the Mid-American Conference, with the 2024 MAC Championships rated as a 74 overall team in this years game.
Those involved clearly have more faith in Hauser and the teams defensive returners, with the team defense earning a 77 overall, while the new-look offensive unit is six spots below at a 71 overall rating.
The Bobcats slide in behind Battle of the Bricks rival Miami (76 OVR) and reigning MAC Champs Western Michigan (75).
All 13 MAC schools, including new member Sacramento State, are rated between 76 and 71 overall.
UMass is the lowest-rated program in the conference and among the lowest-rated of the 138 Division I teams included in the game.
Individual player ratings have also been released for each program included in the game, and Bobcat fans wont be too surprised to see the names topping the roster as the highest-rated performers.
Sophomore linebacker Charlie Christopher is Ohios highest-rated player, with the PFF Freshman All-American coming in as an 85 overall.
Christopher is one of just two MAC players to begin with a rating of 85+, down from nine players a year prior.
Western Michigans Jalen Buckley, last seasons Offensive MVP of the MAC Championship, is the conferences top-rated player at 86 overall.
Junior safety DJ Walker joins Christopher atop the Ohio roster as an 84 overall, just one rank lower than his defensive teammate.
That ties Walker with Akrons Jordan Gant for the third-highest rank in the conference.
With Buckley and Gant both being on the offensive side of the ball, those in charge of ratings essentially believe that Christopher and Walker are the two best defensive players in the conference heading into the fall.
The pairing is a big reason for the Bobcats 77 overall mark on defense, but they arent the only members of Hausers defensive unit earning respect when it comes to player ratings.
Out of the ten highest-rated players on the Ohio roster, eight of them line up on the defensive side of the ball.
That includes the other two members of the Bobcats vaunted linebacker trio, with Micheal Molnar (81 OVR) checking in right behind Christopher and Walker, and Jack Fries (79 OVR) tied for fourth.
The remaining four defenders and two duos, with Holy Cross transfer Eli Thompson (79 OVR) and Kendall Bannister (75 OVR) representing the secondary, while Nehemiah Dukes (77 OVR) and Austin Mitchell (75) showcase the leaders up at the line of scrimmage.
On the offensive side, the only members of the teams top ten rated players are the veteran pairing of Duncan Brune and Vic Rosa in the backfield.
Ohios one-two punch out of the backfield sport just a one overall difference, with Brune matching Thompson and Fries at a 79 overall, while Rosa is right behind as a 78-rated player.
With so many new faces on the offensive side of the ball, its no surprise that the veteran duo is the one earning the preseason trust of those in charge of the games ratings.
Mitchells 75 rating ties him for tenth with five other players, including wide receivers Eian Pugh and Preston Bowman, corner Kendall Bannister, edge rusher Tyler Gillison and punter Magnus Haines.
The games ratings remain fluid throughout the year, so the top ten names will likely fluctuate as time goes on with guys like Bowman, Bannister and others having a solid shot to be among the highest-rated Bobcats at certain points next season.s While EA Sports College Football 27 will bring the Bobcats back to the gridiron virtually on July 9, Ohio will officially hit the field again in the fall when they travel to Nebraska for the season opener on September 5.
The Cornhuskers are the games 24th highest-rated school, with an 83 overall and an 85-rated offense that will provide a fun test for Hausers defense to start the season.