Sam Hartman, Brandon Inniss use ‘College Football 25’ to get revenge on rivals

College Football

Published Jul. 16, 2024 5:59 p.m. ET

When the early release of “College Football 25” arrived on Monday, some used it to relive past experiences. Others, though, used it as a chance to settle some scores.

Ohio State‘s Brandon Inniss was among the latter. The Buckeyes wide receiver had to get some revenge against Michigan after losing to the Wolverines last year as a freshman. He controlled Ohio State to a 91-16 win over its top rival, which he shared in a social media post.

Inniss also shared a screenshot of how the video game version of himself played, recording 24 receptions for 528 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“Yall know the first game I had to play,” Inniss wrote in the social media post with a shrugging emoji.

After winning eight in a row from 2012-19, Ohio State has dropped three straight games to Michigan, with two of its last three losses essentially ending its national title hopes.

While Michigan lost several key contributors from its national title squad, Ohio State reloaded this offseason, landing several top transfers in the portal. Ohio State is one of the top two betting favorites to win the national championship, which is reflected in “College Football 25’s” game ratings. Ohio State has the second-best overall team rating in the game at 94 and has the most players ranked in the top 100 overall ratings with eight.

Inniss wasn’t alone in taking out some frustrations over past results when playing “College Football 25” for the first time. Former Wake Forest and Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman shared a screengrab of him controlling Wake Forest to a 105-34 lead over Clemson in the fourth quarter.

“Just blowing off some steam…,” Hartman wrote in a social media post.

Hartman’s teams went 0-6 against Clemson over his college career, including an upset loss with Notre Dame in 2023.

As players of the past and present wanted to get some payback, other players were happy to see themselves in the game. North Carolina wide receiver J.J. Jones shared a video of himself controlling the Tar Heels and throwing a touchdown to himself in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

“I’m rlly in a da game,” Jones wrote in a social media post with a few laughing emojis.

Prior to the game’s release, Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams expressed his excitement to play the game, but not as the video game version of himself with the Buckeyes.

“Start my first head coaching job tomorrow at 4pm,” Williams wrote with a praying emoji and the hashtag #AGTG, which stands for all glory to God.

The game became available for those who preordered the deluxe version on Monday at 4 p.m. ET, while the standard edition won’t be available to play until Friday. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht is among those who felt the struggle of missing out, replying to his team’s account on X and asking if it had any codes to play the game.

“Don’t have one but here’s you throwing a dot to [Jaylin Noel] for 6,” Iowa State’s X account replied to Becht.

Some players didn’t seem too happy with the new game, or at least found some aspects funny. Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart seemed to be in disbelief at how he looks in “College Football 25.”

“Ain’t no way,” Dart wrote with a laughing emoji in response to a post of his avatar in “College Football 25.”

Clemson offensive lineman Walker Parks was also among the group who took exception to how he looked in the new game.

“Come on man I ain’t that big,” Parks wrote in a social media post with a laughing emoji.

EA Sports had previously said that players might not accurately look like themselves in “College Football 25” as it didn’t have enough time to implement face scans.

Meanwhile, FOX Sports college football analyst and former USC quarterback Matt Leinart asked social media which team he should start with on Dynasty Mode.

As everyone celebrated the return of the long-awaited video game on Monday, Marvin Harrison Jr. shared a sentiment that all college football fans could agree with.

“The game cool and all, but it should’ve been released last year,” Harrison wrote in a social media post.

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