WVU's Overall, Offense, and Defense Ratings in College Football 27 Revealed

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Here, in just a little over a week, those who purchase early access to the College Football 27 video game will be able to start their dynasty mode, road to glory career, and so on.

There are always some heated debates over player and team overall ratings, just as there is with the Madden games. It's not always a perfect indicator of how good or bad a team is going to be, but it does paint a pretty good picture as to what's to come that fall.

Recently, EA Sports released the overall ratings for every team in the game. To give you an idea as to how the rating adjustors think this upcoming season is going to go for West Virginia, I compiled a list of all the Big 12 teams, breaking them down, in order of best overall, offensive rating, and defensive rating.

Overall Ratings

Texas Tech (87)
BYU (86)
Houston (83)
Oklahoma State (83)
Arizona (82)
Arizona State (81)
Colorado (81)
Kansas State (81)
UCF (81)
Utah (81)
TCU (80)
Baylor (79)
Cincinnati (79)
West Virginia (78)
Iowa State (77)
Kansas (77)

This is about where everyone has the Mountaineers entering the season. No, I don't expect West Virginia to finish 14th out of the 16-team league, but because there are so many unknowns with this roster, folks are going to have a difficult time believing there is something there with this group. They need to see it to believe it, and rightfully so.

My main takeaway from this? How in the world is Colorado so dang high? That has to be a mistake, right?

Offensive Rating

BYU (86)
Texas Tech (85)
Houston (85)
Oklahoma State (85)
Kansas State (83)
Utah (83)
Arizona (82)
UCF (82)
Colorado (81)
TCU (81)
West Virginia (81)
Cincinnati (80)
Baylor (78)
Arizona State (78)
Iowa State (77)
Kansas (77)

With Mike Hawkins Jr. at quarterback and the dynamic Cam Cook at running back (91 rating), the Mountaineers will have a chance to put up some video game-like numbers in some game, pun intended. Hawkins is one of the best young quarterbacks in the country, who is finally getting his chance. Don't believe me? Well, then, explain to me why Oklahoma wanted him to stay so badly? They thought he would stay one more year backing up John Mateer before taking over the keys to the offense. If things click, this could be a top half of the Big 12 type of offense when it's all said and done.

Defensive Rating

Texas Tech (90)
BYU (86)
Arizona State (83)
Arizona (82)
Colorado (82)
Oklahoma State (81)
Houston (80)
Kansas State (80)
UCF (80)
Baylor (80)
Utah (78)
TCU (78)
Cincinnati (77)
Iowa State (77)
Kansas (77)
West Virginia (76)

Unfortunately, I can't say I'm surprised. I've stated all offseason long that despite the near-complete turnover of the defensive unit, there are many concerns with this group. The secondary is the biggest question mark, but there could be some serious depth issues in the front seven as well. If this group can be average in the Big 12, they could be playing meaningful games in November. If they are far from it, it may be a struggle to get to a bowl game.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/westvirginia as WVU's Overall, Offense, and Defense Ratings in College Football 27 Revealed.

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