![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/070725_cfb26_EF_088.jpg\")
Running back Connor Lair uses a PlayStation 5 controller to play the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)<\/p>\nQuarterback Jacob Clark had a simultaneously excellent and horrible game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two members of Missouri State University\u2019s football team opted to play as MSU while playing the EA Sports College Football 26 video game on Monday, July 7, during a demonstration at the team facilities.<\/p>\n
Running back Connor Lair led his version of the Bears to a 28-0 win with Clark throwing several touchdowns, stinging wide receiver Jmariyae Robinson for the loss, with his version of Clark throwing a couple of interceptions.<\/p>\n
It brought a strange moment for Robinson, who watched Lair control Robinson\u2019s digital avatar to score a touchdown against him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t even be mad,\u201d Robinson said.<\/p>\n
The game is set to be released to the general public on Thursday. Team players on Monday got the chance to play the game on a PlayStation 5 in the team\u2019s locker room. That means they were playing themselves quite literally.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Running back Connor Lair uses a PlayStation 5 controller to play the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)<\/p>\n
Lair said his friends and family have been just as excited to see the Bears in a major video game from one of the industry\u2019s most prolific publishers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have already had a buddy hit me up and say that he bought the early pass just to play with me and Missouri State,\u201d said Lair, a junior. \u201cIt\u2019s surreal seeing yourself and your teammates on there. That\u2019s what you work hard for.\u201d<\/p>\n
Missouri State\u2019s entry into Conference USA made the appearance possible since the game features teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision.<\/p>\n
Seeing Missouri State\u2019s team members, logos and settings in an EA video game meant a lot to players. James BlackStrain used to play EA video games all the time with his older brother. They would play the latest version of EA Sports Madden and other football games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI never would have thought I\u2019d actually be in a video game,\u201d said BlackStrain, a senior wide receiver for MSU. \u201cI never thought that this would be an opportunity, right? Seeing it come to fruition is a full circle moment, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
A favorite video game returns<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/070725_cfb26_EF_006.jpg\")
From left, running back Connor Lair and wide receiver Jmariyae Robinson play as the Missouri State Bears in the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game while wide receiver James BlackStrain, center, watches on Monday, July 7, 2025, at the Forsythe Athletics Center, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak). <\/p>\n
Players had a lot of praise for the game Monday, saying that it improved itself from last year\u2019s installment. They also liked the game\u2019s depictions of Plaster Stadium, team logos and player avatars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The experience of seeing himself in a video game was not new for DJ Wesolak, a linebacker for the team. Wesolak previously played for Mizzou and Oregon State, getting him in the game when the franchise was revived last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
EA Sports brought back the video game franchise in 2025, after an 11-year hiatus. EA Sports College Football 25 was highly anticipated before its release, and it finished the year as one of the best-selling video games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all played \u2018NCAA 14\u2019 with RG3 (Robert Griffin III) on the cover,\u201d Wesolak said. \u201cFor it to come back once we got to college, that was really cool. For it to come back again this year, it\u2019s exciting to see all my friends on the team get the same experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The \u201826 edition features wide receivers Ryan Williams, of Alabama, and Jeremiah Smith, of Ohio State on the cover. It is expected to test whether annual editions of the franchise have the same staying power as they did in the early 2000s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nationwide exposure in a respected video game<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/070725_cfb26_EF_153.jpg\")
The digital rendition of safety J.J. O\u2019Neal stands during the playing of the new EA Sports College Football 26 video game on Monday, July 7, 2025, at the Forsythe Athletics Center, in Springfield. (Photo by Ellie Frysztak)<\/p>\n
Missouri State\u2019s entry into Conference USA<\/a> means MSU\u2019s players can be selected, and games can be played in a virtual Plaster Stadium that features its new field graphics<\/a> and familiar bleachers.<\/p>\n The game has faithful representations of Missouri State\u2019s facilities, from the updated logo on the uniforms to McDonald Arena and parking lot No. 22 appearing behind the field\u2019s end zones.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even the Pride Band can be heard playing the school fight song.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helps elevate the profile of the university, and probably puts us in a different class of universities across the country,\u201d said Rick Kindhart, associate director of athletics. \u201cOur students should be excited about it. Certainly our players are, and hopefully our fans will be, too.\u201d<\/p>\n One aspect of the game is especially meaningful for the team: The roster includes Todric McGee as a player, BlackStrain said. McGee died in April <\/a>in an accident at his home.\u00a0<\/p>\n A subsidiary of Electronic Arts, EA Sports is one of the most prolific designers of sports video games. It also publishes the \u201cMadden\u201d games that represent NFL teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n Being included in one of the company\u2019s games, in a franchise beloved by so many, is no small accomplishment, BlackStrain said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt means Missouri State is not just an afterthought,\u201d BlackStrain said. \u201cIt\u2019s a place where people can make memories and be known. They can come from here, and be something from this area, represent it in the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Joe Hadsall is the education reporter for the Springfield Daily Citizen. Hadsall has more than two decades of experience reporting in the Ozarks with the Joplin Globe, Christian County Headliner News and 417 Magazine. Contact him at (417) 837-3671 or jhadsall@sgfcitizen.org. More by Joe Hadsall<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Quarterback Jacob Clark had a simultaneously excellent and horrible game.\u00a0 Two members of Missouri State University\u2019s football team…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":47187,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[36472,1318,36473,1317,1315,1316,62,36474,36475,36476,36477,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-47186","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-ea-sports-college-football-26","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-missouri-state-university","11":"tag-ncaa","12":"tag-ncaa-football","13":"tag-ncaafootball","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-topsports1","16":"tag-topstories","17":"tag-topstories1","18":"tag-topstories2","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-unitedstates","21":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114814518907855117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47186"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47186\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJoe Hadsall\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n