We simulated Tennessee football vs. NC State. Who won the game, MVP honors in EA Sports?

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 still need another week before we can deliver a true simulation, as this week’s game will take place at the neutral site of Bank of American Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is not available in the video game. For last week’s simulation, Tennessee took on Chattanooga, which was only available by downloading a user-created team with inaccurate player names and attributes.

But for this week’s matchup, rosters are updated, even if rankings are not. We set the time for 8 p.m. (the closest you can get to a 7:30 p.m. kickoff) and set the environment to partly cloudy to simulate the projected 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 matchup between the Volunteers and the Wolfpack, happening at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 7.

Results of the virtual Tennessee Volunteers vs. NC State Wolfpack games

Out of 100 simulations, NC State won the majority of the games with 53.

Many games were decided by just a field goal or a touchdown, and only a few games featured a blowout by either team. Seven games went to overtime, which favored NC State with four victories.

The Vols scored an average of 24.3 points per game, with the Wolfpack scoring an average of 25.95.

Tennessee average yards: 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 real-life game will be close, predicting a UT victory of 41-23. Here’s more about what EA Sports College Football 25 thinks will happen based on our simulations:

• Biggest UT win: 34-13
• Biggest NC State win: 45-14
• Highest scoring game: 52-40, Tennessee
• Lowest scoring game: 13-3, NC State
• 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. Grayson McCall of NC State was named MVP in Games 69 and 76, despite the Vols winning both matchups.
• Most impressive plays: Squirrel White returned a kick for a 101-yard touchdown in Game 69, which the Vols won 31-27. James Pierce Jr. picked up 77 yards on a fumble in Game 3. In Game 46, Nico Iamaleava passed 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 took home the most MVP awards. NC State wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, running back Jordan Waters, running back Kendrick Raphael and wide receiver Noah Rogers all were 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. all were named MVP at least once.

Smokey grey uniforms are now in EA Sports College Football 25

Fans of the smokey grey uniforms can rejoice, as the uniform style has been added to the game.

The game still features Smokey XI partaking in mascot activities on the sidelines, which the real Smokey XI won’t be doing this season as he keeps developing.

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 reporter. Email keenan.thomas@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @specialk2real.

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