EA Sports College Football 27 Guide: The Best And Worst Teams Rated

Taking over a college football program is stressful enough without accidentally picking a roster that belongs in a rec league.

If you are booting up a new career or just looking to crush a friend in a quick exhibition match, knowing the power dynamics of the default rosters is mandatory. The heavy hitters are usually pretty obvious, but the specific offensive and defensive ratings shift every year based on fresh recruits and transfer portal chaos. Before you commit to a miserable rebuild or blindly pick a powerhouse that actually has a secret glass jaw on defense, you need to look at the numbers. If you want to know how to properly manage these squads, you can always check out my EA Sports College Football 27 coach archetype guide to pair the right tactical scheme with your new roster.

The Top Ten Powerhouses

The top of the mountain is crowded, but Oregon currently holds the crown as the undisputed best team in the game. They sit at a 91 overall rating, backed up by a perfectly balanced 91 offense and 91 defense.

Ohio State and Indiana are breathing right down their necks with 90 overall ratings. Ohio State actually boasts the highest offensive rating in the entire game at a 92, fueled heavily by the terrifying duo of wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and quarterback Julian Sayin. Indiana counters that with a brick wall 90 overall defense, tying them for the second-best defensive unit available.

Team	Offense Rating	Defense Rating	OVR Rating
Oregon	91	91	91
Ohio State	92	88	90
Indiana	90	90	90
Notre Dame	88	90	89
Texas	90	88	89
LSU	89	87	88
Miami	90	86	88
Ole Miss	88	87	88
Georgia	85	89	87
Oklahoma	87	88	87

The Bottom Ten Rebuilds

If you hate yourself and want to take on the absolute hardest challenge available, UL Monroe is your team. They hold the unfortunate title of the worst squad in the game with a 69 overall rating. That number is dragged into the gutter by a deeply flawed defense that scores a pathetic 68.

NIU isn't doing much better. They sit at a 70 overall with the exact same 68 rating on defense, only narrowly escaping the basement because their offense scraped together a 72. Taking on any of the schools in this bottom bracket means you are going to be relying heavily on sheer willpower and clock management to win games.

Team	Offense Rating	Defense Rating	OVR Rating
UL Monroe	71	68	69
NIU	72	68	70
UMass	71	72	71
Southern Miss	71	70	71
Sam Houston	72	71	71
UTEP	73	71	72
South Alabama	73	72	72
San Jose State	73	70	72
Sac State	73	72	72
Rice	72	73	72

How To Pick A Rebuild Project

Before you blindly pick one of the bottom ten teams to start your career, you need to look beyond their awful starting overall ratings. Just because a team is terrible right now doesn't mean they are a smart candidate for a long term project.

If you want your rebuilding phase to actually succeed, you need to check the school's built-in recruiting pipelines and their fixed recruiting grades. Some of those institutional grades are unchangeable. A terrible team with a solid recruitment pipeline can be turned around, but a bad team with zero geographic pull will keep you trapped in the basement forever.

Also, remember that a low team rating doesn't mean you can't score points. If you know how to leverage a blisteringly fast quarterback or dial up routes for a speedy wide receiver, you can single-handedly mask a ton of offensive flaws. If you need help finding those speedsters to anchor your new terrible roster, check out my EA Sports College Football 27 fastest players guide to see who you should try poaching in the transfer portal.