Gene Ross
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Life in Simulation: EA CFB 25 predicts Ohio State vs. Michigan State
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
The virtual Buckeyes take on the virtual Spartans in Week 5.
College football finally returned to the virtual world in 2024 with the release of EA Sports College Football 25, allowing fans of all 134 FBS schools to take control of their favorite team. For Buckeye Nation, that means getting to dominate with one of the best rosters in the game,
The new game also allows us to get a glimpse at what the season could look like, at least if the computers had their say. Each week, Land-Grant Holy Land will simulate Ohio State’s real-life matchup to see what our AI overlords think will happen.
Here are the results of our Week 5 sim:
Ohio State got off to a bit of a slow start in this week’s sim, leading just 7-0 after the first quarter, but a 24-point second quarter opened the door for an eventual Buckeyes blowout. Michigan State scored all 17 of its points in the second half, as the Silver Bullets held the Spartans to 70 yards rushing and 118 yards passing while Ohio State put up 503 yards of offense of their own in the lopsided victory.
Quinshon Judkins opened up the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter, and nobody would score again until a Jayden Fielding field goal made it 10-0 to begin the second quarter. From there, Will Howard found three different Ohio State receivers for touchdowns in the frame, with a 32-yard TD by Emeka Egbuka followed up by a pair of 5-yard TDs by Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith as the Buckeyes took a 31-0 lead into halftime.
Ohio State opened the third quarter Wirth a 44-yard field goal, and a few minutes later Michigan State scored its first points of the game on a 20-yard touchdown run by Nate Carter as the two teams entered the fourth quarter in a 34-7 game. The Buckeyes added on to their lead on the first two drives of the final period with a 9-yard TD catch by Gee Scott Jr. and a two-yard TD run by TreVeyon Henderson to make it 48-7, and from there the offense just looked to run out the clock.
The Spartans made the most of garbage time, scoring another 10 points in the final five minutes of action on a 51-yard field goal by Noah Jim and a 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Alante Brown as we reached the final score of 48-17.
Will Howard completed 18 of his 24 pass attempts for 256 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, adding another 20 yards on the ground. Henderson and Judkins were both efficient, averaging nearly five yards per carry on 183 combined yards with a touchdown apiece. Egbuka led the way in the receiving yards department with four catches for 77 yards and the score, while Smith led the way in catches with five for 57 and the TD.
Defensively, Davison Igbinosun paced the group with six total tackles, followed closely by Denzel Burke and Jack Sawyer with five each. Sawyer also led the team with two tackles for loss, with Jordan Hancock and Kayden McDonald each recording one TFL as well, and the defensive line trio of Sawyer, Tyleik Williams and Tyler Bourne (J.T. Tuimoloau) each tallied one sack. Hancock recorded the defense’s lone takeaway on an interception, as he and Sonny Styles tied for the team lead with two PBU’s apiece.
For Michigan State, Aidan Chiles completed only nine of his 27 pass attempts for 118 yards with one TD and one pick. Nate Carter put together a decent day on the ground with 12 carries for 77 yards, but 44 of those yards came on the one long TD run at the end of the game (33 yards on his other 11 carries). No Spartan receiver recorded more than two catches, with Brown’s long score late rewarding him a team-high 63 yards on two receptions followed by two catches for 25 yards for tight end Jack Velling.
Ohio State’s offense was almost perfectly balanced, with 256 yards passing and 249 yards rushing. They dominated on the conversion stats, with 24 first downs to Michigan State’s six and 9-of-15 on third down compared to the Spartans’ 2-of-13. The Buckeyes also held the ball for the majority of the contest, finishing with 41:58 of possession time to just 18:02 for Michigan State.
The virtual Buckeyes move to 4-0 on the year. Check back next week to see how Ohio State actually performed on the field compared to the simulation, and see how they fare in our Week 6 simulation against Iowa.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images
The virtual Buckeyes take on the virtual Spartans in Week 5.
College football finally returned to the virtual world in 2024 with the release of EA Sports College Football 25, allowing fans of all 134 FBS schools to take control of their favorite team. For Buckeye Nation, that means getting to dominate with one of the best rosters in the game,
The new game also allows us to get a glimpse at what the season could look like, at least if the computers had their say. Each week, Land-Grant Holy Land will simulate Ohio State’s real-life matchup to see what our AI overlords think will happen.
Here are the results of our Week 5 sim:
Ohio State 48 - Michigan State 17
Ohio State got off to a bit of a slow start in this week’s sim, leading just 7-0 after the first quarter, but a 24-point second quarter opened the door for an eventual Buckeyes blowout. Michigan State scored all 17 of its points in the second half, as the Silver Bullets held the Spartans to 70 yards rushing and 118 yards passing while Ohio State put up 503 yards of offense of their own in the lopsided victory.
Quinshon Judkins opened up the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter, and nobody would score again until a Jayden Fielding field goal made it 10-0 to begin the second quarter. From there, Will Howard found three different Ohio State receivers for touchdowns in the frame, with a 32-yard TD by Emeka Egbuka followed up by a pair of 5-yard TDs by Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith as the Buckeyes took a 31-0 lead into halftime.
Ohio State opened the third quarter Wirth a 44-yard field goal, and a few minutes later Michigan State scored its first points of the game on a 20-yard touchdown run by Nate Carter as the two teams entered the fourth quarter in a 34-7 game. The Buckeyes added on to their lead on the first two drives of the final period with a 9-yard TD catch by Gee Scott Jr. and a two-yard TD run by TreVeyon Henderson to make it 48-7, and from there the offense just looked to run out the clock.
The Spartans made the most of garbage time, scoring another 10 points in the final five minutes of action on a 51-yard field goal by Noah Jim and a 54-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Alante Brown as we reached the final score of 48-17.
Will Howard completed 18 of his 24 pass attempts for 256 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, adding another 20 yards on the ground. Henderson and Judkins were both efficient, averaging nearly five yards per carry on 183 combined yards with a touchdown apiece. Egbuka led the way in the receiving yards department with four catches for 77 yards and the score, while Smith led the way in catches with five for 57 and the TD.
Defensively, Davison Igbinosun paced the group with six total tackles, followed closely by Denzel Burke and Jack Sawyer with five each. Sawyer also led the team with two tackles for loss, with Jordan Hancock and Kayden McDonald each recording one TFL as well, and the defensive line trio of Sawyer, Tyleik Williams and Tyler Bourne (J.T. Tuimoloau) each tallied one sack. Hancock recorded the defense’s lone takeaway on an interception, as he and Sonny Styles tied for the team lead with two PBU’s apiece.
For Michigan State, Aidan Chiles completed only nine of his 27 pass attempts for 118 yards with one TD and one pick. Nate Carter put together a decent day on the ground with 12 carries for 77 yards, but 44 of those yards came on the one long TD run at the end of the game (33 yards on his other 11 carries). No Spartan receiver recorded more than two catches, with Brown’s long score late rewarding him a team-high 63 yards on two receptions followed by two catches for 25 yards for tight end Jack Velling.
Ohio State’s offense was almost perfectly balanced, with 256 yards passing and 249 yards rushing. They dominated on the conversion stats, with 24 first downs to Michigan State’s six and 9-of-15 on third down compared to the Spartans’ 2-of-13. The Buckeyes also held the ball for the majority of the contest, finishing with 41:58 of possession time to just 18:02 for Michigan State.
The virtual Buckeyes move to 4-0 on the year. Check back next week to see how Ohio State actually performed on the field compared to the simulation, and see how they fare in our Week 6 simulation against Iowa.
Continue reading...