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So. Was it worth the wait?
EA Sports dropped College Football 25, the first college football video game since 2013, this week. Customers who pre-ordered the deluxe edition gained access at 4 p.m. Monday. Standard edition consumers will join the fun Friday.
The title’s comeback was announced Feb. 2, 2021 — 2,765 days after NCAA Football 14 came out and 1,259 days before the new game debuted. Originally set for a 2023 release, it even faced a year delay.
So, was it worth the wait?
Here are my thoughts.
Gameplay
I’ve spent many Saturday afternoons and midweek MACtion evenings at Yager Stadium in Oxford, Ohio. So naturally, when I fired up College Football 25 for the first time Monday, I went straight to my alma mater, Miami (Ohio) University.
It looks accurate. The developers nailed the appearance of the stadium, including the additions the school has made since the last NCAA video game 11 years ago.
It sounds great, with bands blaring fight songs and filling the gaps between plays. When Miami picks up a first down in the real world, the band trumpets a certain segment of the university fight song. That’s in the game, along with the ebbs and flows of crowd noise and solid commentary by familiar voices (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis, etc.).
And it feels authentic. The pre- and postgame traditions. The in-game action. The general cadence of a college football tilt.
It feels like a modernized version of NCAA Football 14, which is meant as a compliment. The series was not discontinued because it stunk. EA Sports halted production because of the name, image and likeness restrictions of the mid-2010s.
It couldn’t pay players. Now, it can.
For my first game, I needed a warmup. The RedHawks and I took on UTEP.
Quick disclaimer: I’m not going to act like I’m good. I’m a casual gamer, who occasionally fires up the Xbox when life allows me to indulge in some MLB The Show or Madden. My skills? Average.
But this game was way more difficult than I expected.
The “revamped” passing system lets users have a direct impact on how good the throw is. It took a game or two to adjust to.
However, if you don’t want to deal with that meter, you can switch the settings back to the classic passing mode, which is less involved.
The kicking meter also differs from the traditional NCAA Football or Madden mechanics. Honestly, I will probably avoid field goals for two reasons. No. 1, the new kicking meter. No. 2, in golf terms, I didn’t come here to lay up.
The last thing I noticed? I struggled on defense.
Actually, I couldn’t stop a nosebleed.
UTEP hung 35 points on me on varsity difficulty. The AI defenders simply ran right by ball-carriers multiple times, but I guess that’s my punishment for choosing a MAC school, even a good one. This ain’t Georgia’s defense.
The Miners couldn’t hold me, either, though. I put up 55 points.
I wasn’t alone. Our editor, Ryan Pritt, allowed 59 points and 391 passing yards — and somehow won in triple overtime — in his first game. (He’s gonna remove that tidbit, isn’t he?)
Overall, the gameplay is enjoyable. It’s a challenge, which will keep players glued to their TV screens instead of placing the controller down after a week. I could chart my improvement the more I played.
The movements and animations are smooth. Most of the controls resemble the NCAA and Madden titles of the past, and the majority of the changes felt instinctive after a few run-throughs.
Those who worried about College Football 25 being a Madden clone can find some similarities. The games are produced by the same company, and the central premise of each is American football.
But it certainly is not a carbon copy.
Each offensive playbook I tried offered something different. Uptempo, option, air raid. EA touted 134 ways to compete in this game, with each Division I team possessing a unique style.
On Day 1, that stood out.
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Road to Glory
I wanted my player to see the field right away. So I brought my talents to the only school that promised me a starting quarterback job.
First-year FBS program Kennesaw State.
When creating your character, there are four levels to choose from: Elite (five-star recruit, 79 overall rating), Blue Chip (four-star, 75), Contributor (three-star, 67) and Underdog (two-star, 60). I went Contributor.
You also select a player archetype depending on your position. I settled on Scrambler over Field General and Improviser. This is college football after all, so I better have the ability to execute a read option if need be.
Once on the virtual campus, Road to Glory gives players opportunities on and off the field. On your weekly agenda, you can allocate time to your studies (your player must maintain a 2.0 GPA to remain eligible), leadership, health, training and brand (NIL).
I prioritized my academics (what’s the point of the mode if you become ineligible and can’t suit up), leadership (the more team trust you earn, the more freedom the coach gives you on the field) and health (again, my player belongs on the field, not the sidelines).
Your player receives texts each week that affect those categories. A classmate might reach out and invite you to a party. An academic advisor may message you about an upcoming exam. A coach could hit you up about a chance at additional practice time. A local business might present you with an NIL deal.
I also completed a short practice session each week. By Week 4, my rating had risen from 67 to 69.
Before my first game against UTSA, I bumped the difficulty up to All-American, the second-highest of the four tiers. I thought I was ready.
I almost was.
After falling into a 17-3 hole in the first half, I rallied for 22 points in the fourth quarter, throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass and two-point conversion with 32 seconds left. I thought I had gotten the hang of it.
Then, UTSA struck for a 70-yard bomb with six seconds remaining, and the 36-32 stunner pushed me right back to reality.
My Owls held off Louisiana for our first win 38-35 in Week 2 and handled San Jose State 34-26 in Week 3.
Early in games, the automated coach limits my throwing attempts, calling mostly handoffs. He doesn’t trust my player, a true freshman starting for a new FBS program.
But as I establish a rhythm later in second halves and as the season has gone on, the game has loosened its grip. Once I boost my coach trust rating enough, I’ll have full reign of the playbook.
And if he doesn’t grant me more freedom, well, I’ll leave! The transfer portal is available after every season.
A staple of the franchise’s older titles, Road to Glory did not disappoint.
I just wish the mode began in high school like NCAA Football 14 and the menu display still looked like a dorm room, as it did in the late 2000s.
Dynasty
Building a program for up to 30 years? In College Football 25, it can be as simple or complex as you want it to be.
UCF was my pick for a Dynasty head-coaching trial run. Not a Blue Blood that draws multiple five-star prospects on brand name alone but also not a club that requires a tough, multi-year rebuild.
Again, I decided on All-American difficulty, breezed through a couple of games and simulated the rest to finish 9-4.
But the main attraction of this mode is the roster construction.
Recruiting is interesting. There is no difficulty setting for it.
When you design your coach, you can mold him in one of three ways like in Road to Glory. He can be a Motivator, a Tactician or a Recruiter, which was my route.
During the preseason, I combed through the prospects list and fleshed out my big board. Each week, I tended to my targets.
I chased a four-star quarterback. Didn’t get him. Pursued some three-star defensive linemen. Enjoyed more success there.
You control everything from who you offer scholarships, to when players visit your campus, to how you interact with them. (You can DM prospects on social media, though you don’t actually see the conversations.)
After the season ends and the offseason kicks off, the transfer portal opens.
Overall, I landed 30 recruits. My class included 20 three-stars and 10 two-stars and ranked 63rd in the country.
Multiple times, a four-star prospect listed UCF as his No. 1 destination, only for a Florida, an Oregon or another legacy program to swoop in last-second and snatch him away. Gone are the NCAA Football 14 days when I could easily lure a five-star to a Mid-American Conference school in Year 1.
Many of the top players have deal breakers. In order for them to consider a school, it has to have to possess a certain quality. Maybe an incoming freshman desires a lot of coach stability. If your program has a C+ coach stability ranking and the player requires a B, you are locked out of recruiting that player.
If you’d rather speed through games and don’t want to deal with recruiting, that works, too. You can enable automated recruiting in settings, and the computer will moderate it for you.
That’s not the only responsibility in Dynasty. You can customize your team’s schedule or realign the conferences, hire and fire assistant coaches, manage your players’ goals and skill progressions, encourage them to enter the portal and more.
And you, yourself, could search for better jobs through the coaching carousel at the end of each year. As UCF’s head coach, I received head-coaching offers from Louisville, Marshall, Missouri and Southern Miss and coordinator offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson and Florida State.
You also could be fired if you don’t meet the standards outlined in your contract.
Ultimate Team and Road to the CFP
These two modes are toss-ins for me. Dynasty and Road to Glory will absorb most of my attention.
I did take a peak at Ultimate Team, which is similar to the Madden mode of the same name. It centers around solo challenges and online head-to-head matchups. Players and other items, like jerseys, are represented as collectable virtual cards. The deluxe pre-order gifted users some special packs.
Road to the CFP features three-minute online matchups that mirror a regular season. As you stack wins and defeat increasingly tougher opponents, you can climb the rankings and crash the College Football Playoff party.
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Final thoughts on College Football 25
I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, testing the various elements of the game. I can’t tell you the last time I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. playing a video game.
Enough said?
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