College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack: How to Upgrade One Player to 91 OVR

College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack contains two free 85 OVR players, but only one can be upgraded to 91 OVR Champion. EA gives you Georgia Tech tight end Kevin Roche Jr. and Nebraska right edge rusher Williams Nwaneri when you enter College Ultimate Team before the November 6 deadline.

You keep both cards, but you can only develop one through the event’s Skill Point objectives. The selected player has to stay in your active lineup for those games to count. Here are the steps, the cards’ starting ratings and what to try if your progress isn’t registering.

How to claim the College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack

Log into College Ultimate Team before November 6, 2026 at 1:30 PM Eastern to receive the College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack. The pack contains both 85 OVR cards, with no Nightmares Premium Field Pass purchase or event completion needed to claim them.

For UK players, the cutoff is 6:30 PM GMT on November 6, after the clocks change. Claim the pack before that time, then look for Roche Jr. and Nwaneri in your CUT player collection. If you want to earn their exclusive chemistry bonuses, they must be placed in your active lineup.

College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack: Which player should you upgrade?

Kevin Roche Jr. is a tight end for Georgia Tech; Williams Nwaneri is a right edge rusher for Nebraska. Both players begin at 85 OVR, and either can reach 91 OVR through Skill Point objectives. Their roles are completely different, so make the choice based on whether your team needs a receiving target or help rushing the quarterback.

Player	Position	Starting OVR	Upgradeable OVR
Kevin Roche Jr.	TE, Georgia Tech	85	91, if selected
Williams Nwaneri	REDGE, Nebraska	85	91, if selected

The College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack has just one upgrade choice. You pick either Roche Jr. or Nwaneri and work on that card. The other player remains part of your collection, but EA hasn’t described a way to upgrade both through this Welcome Pack programme.

How to earn Skill Points for the College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack

Once you’ve chosen which player to upgrade, put the selected card into your active lineup. EA states that upgrade objective progress is only recorded when the player is active. Owning the card in your binder isn’t enough. You can then complete objectives in any CUT mode, including Challenges, to earn Skill Points.

Use those points to upgrade your selected player’s attributes through the available upgrade path until the card reaches 91 OVR Champion. EA confirms that no additional Evolution is required. EA hasn’t published every Skill Point objective or the number of points needed for each upgrade. The in-game objectives menu shows what your selected player needs next.

Why aren’t my Welcome Pack objectives progressing?

If the College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack objectives aren’t tracking, first check your active lineup. Make sure the 85 OVR player you chose is equipped, then complete an eligible CUT Challenge and check the objective counter again. A player sitting in the binder can’t progress those objectives.

Also check that you’re working on the card you selected for upgrades. You receive both players, but the Skill Point route belongs to your chosen card. If the counter stays still after a game, return to your lineup and check which player was selected for the upgrade.

Does the College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack have special chemistry?

Yes. EA confirms that the two Welcome Pack player items and the Marshawn Lynch crossover player have exclusive chemistry effects which only work while the item is in your lineup. The chemistry only takes effect when the relevant player is equipped, so leaving the card in your binder won’t help your lineup.

These exclusive chemistries are different from the Harrowing, Abyssal and Eternal player variants elsewhere in the Nightmares programme. Those higher-end cards have their own archetypes and chemistry slots, so check the actual item you’re using rather than assuming every Nightmares card follows the same rules.

Can you upgrade both Welcome Pack players to 91 OVR?

No. EA’s instructions for the College Football 27 Nightmares Welcome Pack say to choose either Kevin Roche Jr. or Williams Nwaneri for the upgrades. Both 85 OVR cards are free, but only your selection follows the objective and Skill Point path to 91 OVR Champion.

November 6 at 1:30 PM Eastern is the confirmed last time to log in and claim the free Welcome Pack. EA’s announcement doesn’t give a separate Skill Point spending deadline. Check the CUT objective timer before leaving the upgrades until the end of the event.

Official source: EA Sports’ Nightmares programme announcement.