Bryant-Denny Stadium falls in EA Sports’ toughest places to play rankings

After initially being ranked as the No. 2 toughest place to play in the EA Sports College Football 25 video game, Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium has been downgraded. With the game’s latest update, the home of the Crimson Tide dropped to No. 5 on the list.

Bryant-Denny’s drop wasn’t as precipitous as Kyle Field’s. Texas A&M’s home stadium had initially been ranked as the hardest place to play in the game, a move widely panned by those who had attended games across the sport’s most recognizable venues.

The Aggies’ home fell to No. 11 with the most recent update. The top 10 ahead of Texas A&M also saw major changes.

The changes were first reported by Operation Sports. In another Alabama-related change to the game, defensive lineman Tim Smith now appears on the field, replacing the fictitious “Lemarcus Fox” on the Crimson Tide’s roster.

LSU is now listed as the No. 1 most difficult environment in the game. Tiger Stadium was initially ranked No. 3, behind both Alabama and TAMU.

Penn State also climbed the board, up to No. 2. Beaver Stadium had been ranked No. 6.

Ohio State rose one spot, jumping from from fourth to third. After Alabama, Clemson came in sixth with the new update, up from No. 12.

Florida climbed from No. 10 up to No. 7. Oklahoma’s ranking was unchanged in eighth place, the only top 10 environment to see no change.

Oregon jumped from No. 11 to ninth. Michigan finished out the top 10, jumping from 16th.

Alabama’s stadium will be back in use on Saturday to start out the Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide will face Western Kentucky on ESPN.

That game is scheduled to kick off at 6:05 CT.