What Nico Iamaleava’s performance means for Tennessee’s playoff qualification
What Nico Iamaleava’s performance means for Tennessee’s playoff qualification
It’s Week 2 of the college football season, which means it’s time for our video game simulation of No. 14 Tennessee vs. No. 24 NC State on EA Sports College Football 25.
We need one more week before we can deliver a true simulation, as this week’s game is being played at the neutral site of Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is not available in the video game. Last week’s simulation pitted Tennessee against Chattanooga, which was only available by downloading a user-created team with inaccurate player names and attributes.
But for this week’s game, the rosters are updated but the rankings are not. We set the time to 8 p.m. (that’s the closest you can get to a 7:30 p.m. kickoff) and the environment to partly cloudy to simulate the forecasted weather in Charlotte.
We ran 100 simulations to get a wide range of averages for both teams. Here’s what the video game predicts for the real-life Volunteers-Wolfpack clash, which takes place on September 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Results of the virtual games Tennessee Volunteers vs. NC State Wolfpack
Of 100 simulations, NC State won the most games with 53.
Many games were decided by just a field goal or touchdown, and only a few games ended with a landslide victory for either team. Seven games went into overtime, which favored NC State with four wins.
The Vols averaged 24.3 points per game, while the Wolfpack averaged 25.95 points per game.
Average yards in Tennessee: 174.54 rushing, 183.75 passing and 465.5 total
NC State Average Yards: 150.9 rushing, 234.93 passing yards and 488.38 total
Columnist John Adams doesn’t think the game will be close in real life, predicting a 41-23 UT win. Here’s more on what EA Sports College Football 25 is expecting based on our simulations:
- Biggest UT win: 34-13
- Biggest win for NC State: 45-14
- Game with the most points: 52-40, Tennessee
- Game with the lowest score: 13-3, NC State
- The closest game: 24-23, NC State
- Biggest surprise: In three games, the losing team had the most valuable player. The Vols lost in overtime in Game 53, but Nico Iamaleava was named MVP. NC State’s Grayson McCall was named MVP in Games 69 and 76, although the Vols won both meetings.
- The most impressive pieces: Squirrel White returned a kick for a 101-yard touchdown in Game 69, which the Vols won 31-27. James Pearce Jr. returned a fumble for 77 yards in Game 3. In Game 46, Nico Iamaleava threw a pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr. for a 91-yard touchdown, followed by a 90-yard touchdown from Grayson McCall to Kevin Concepcion.
- Most valuable players: Quarterbacks Grayson McCall and Nico Iamaleava have taken home the most MVP awards. NC State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, running back Jordan Waters, running back Kendrick Raphael and wide receiver Noah Rogers have all been named MVP at least once. UT linebacker Keenan Pili, running back Dylan Sampson, running back Khalifa Keith, running back Cameron Seldon, wide receiver Squirrel White, running back Peyton Lewis, wide receiver Chris Brazzell II and wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. have all been named MVP at least once.
Smoke Gray Uniforms Now Available in EA Sports College Football 25
Fans of the smoke gray uniforms rejoice as the uniform style has been added to the game.
In the game, Smokey XI still participates in mascot activities on the sidelines, something the real Smokey XI will not do this season due to his evolution.
Check back next week to see what EA Sports College Football 25 has in store for Tennessee vs. Kent State!
Keenan Thomas is a higher education journalist. Email: [email protected]. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.
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