Hype and anticipation is building for EA Sports’ “College Football 25” ahead of the July 19 release date. Information about the game has been trickling in since the company officially confirmed the franchise’s return this summer after an 11-year hiatus.
Earlier this month, EA Sports announced that Michigan’s Donovan Edwards, Colorado’s Travis Hunter, and Texas’ Quinn Ewers would serve as the cover athletes. Fans also got their first real look at the game when the company released it Official trailer Hours after the cover was announced.
All the footage and rumors about new features have only served to build excitement for the franchise’s return. Fans have been lighting up message boards and social media asking about gameplay, Dynasty mode, Road to Glory, stadium models, how NIL will impact that and more.
Fortunately, we have some answers for you.
CBS Sports’ Bud Elliott was one of a select few reporters invited to play the game early and was kind enough to answer the most pressing questions before the official release in less than two months.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Cameron Salerno: What are your initial thoughts after playing the game?
Bud Elliot: As someone who played the latest version and has been playing it for a while, the gameplay is much smoother. It’s as if he disappeared for almost a decade and now he’s back. However, it feels different from the way Madden plays. It’s a little faster. In the old game, you could wait until the last possible second to pass and the player would usually shoot the ball. This is noticeably different. they [also] Invest a lot of time and energy trying to make each playbook special.
The first thing you get from this is that these people making the game, it’s not just another sports game they’re working on. They’re obsessed with college football. They are obsessed with every little detail. Like how Tennessee plays chess or how a different team does lines. This level of detail. They have unique voices for each team. The slogan they tried to express is that every team is someone’s favorite team, so we want all the Division I teams that people play to be represented and to feel special when they play.
CS: Was there anything else special?
He is: I thought the ability to do quick passing movements with the right trigger was very useful. there [also] A real difference and a reason why you might want to play at every level of defense. The kicking controls are new and make sense. The first game I played, I had a 7-yard leg.
The other thing they really talked about is that everyone in the NFL is a professional football player. In college, this is not the case. The gap between the best player in the NFL and the worst is much narrower. Ratings in terms of prevalence are not 99-60. Maybe it’s like 99-30 in some cases.
Age, experience and talent levels mean that some players will be disproportionately affected by some of the crazy atmosphere. college [teams] They have a much greater home advantage than the professionals. Some of the stadiums are louder, but the reality is some of these kids are 18 years old. [They] They were not used to being under real pressure and in such a noisy environment. Let’s say you go to Death Valley at night with a top 18-year-old quarterback, you’d better preview your tracks because some of them might not show up. Some of these lines may be shaky and jagged. They really tried and simulated giving the team a real advantage at home. Experience and maturity are somewhat important.
CS: Did you have the opportunity to play in the Dynasty or Road to Glory game modes?
He is: We couldn’t get those games to work but that probably took up 30 or 40 minutes of the show. Dynasty and Road to Glory are major selling points. Compared to Madden, Ultimate Team is emphasized, or at least in comparison. The breed looks really cool.
There are a lot of strategies when it comes to recruiting. Every recruiter has certain things that matter to him. There is an emphasis on balancing your roster points and your NIL resources in your recruiting process. How much will you go to high school with them? How much will you get out of the transfer portal? This matters a lot.
The promises you make to the kids in your high school, if you don’t keep them, your roster probably won’t be happy. They’re really trying to make it as realistic as possible, which is a big step.
CS: Did they mention how NIL will be managed in the game? How does a team like Alabama, which has a lot of money with nothing on it, compare to a team of small Group of Five schools, which may not have a lot of money on it with none?
He is: So they don’t actually use the money with NIL. It’s basically a brand status. I think that’s what they called it. So, how many brand awareness points do you want to give your guy? …The game has been in development for two years, and some nil decisions were only recently released with a July release date. Nothing important for sure. You can’t build Nevada into a national title contender in just three seasons. There is some realism. If you take Nevada or Air Force to a national title, you’re going to have to play a fair number of seasons.
CS: Can you go into more depth about how difficult it is to rebuild a smaller program from previous versions of the game?
He is: The level of school you play at will determine how much promise you can do with things like going to the NFL, exposure, and branding – which are obviously kind of code words for the NIL. It’s a little more realistic. I used to take the Ohio Bobcats and lead them to a national title pretty quickly, but that’s not easy because of all the different promises that recruiters are interested in. It’s kind of cool because if you take one of these bands to a nifty level, and you do it in six or seven years, that’s pretty cool. It makes the game playable for longer.
CS: How will the training carousel compare to previous versions of the game?
He is: There are many training paths you can take. You can start as a head coach or coordinator. I think you can start as a posture coach too. There are different paths you can take. No one can be excellent at everything when you’re starting out. It takes a long time to get to Nick Saban’s level. There is a path to recruit, tactical, developer, or motivator. In all three of these paths, you distribute your attribute points when you create your trainer. This actually affects how your players develop and play.
CS: What have you heard about Road to Glory? Is it the same or different from the last version of the game?
He is: There are lots of different things you can do. You have to balance your time. You may actually become academically ineligible if you don’t balance your training with the opportunities of having none. You really have to manage your player. They talked to the coaches and players about the recent time restrictions on players, which I thought was pretty cool. I don’t think you can customize your players’ names in this because they’re trying to make sure you can’t do players who haven’t signed up. I think there are some limitations (since) some players have opted out. For example, you can’t just create Arch Manning.
CS: How will the transport portal be used in the game?
He is: It’s really there. Your current happiness at your school, the path towards playing time, and the feedback you are receiving in relation to what your coach told you would happen. All of these things are important to some extent.
CS: Other thoughts about the game?
He is: Pitch mapping technology has become much better than it used to be [in the last game.] I think they mapped out each stadium. The intros are really good. They built a mound to do motion capture for Clemson. They built a horse to do the Renegade for Florida State. This level of detail. They play the right song after certain things happen.
There are no X-factors. You have mental and physical abilities. There is a real wear mode, so you can’t run the same person every time. It will wear down the player and also increase the chance of injury.
A quick flick can get you closer to the ball on defense. You can become that guy closest to the ball. As far as the user being captured or intercepted, that really helps.
The options game is definitely different. Previously you had to press this button to deliver the ball, now it is a pull button. If you don’t hit anything, it’s a giveaway.
“Coffee ninja. Web fan. Hipster-friendly beer enthusiast. Professional creator.”