I’ve spent the last year in awe of where we are as it relates to EA Sports’ College Football franchise. There was legitimately a time where we had all accepted that there would never again be a new entry in the NCAA series. Mainly because of the NCAA’s stubborn insistence on having an issue with players having the audacity to want to be paid for making those institutions billions of dollars. And then we got it with College Football 25 last year. And then the best possible outcome occurred: We have College Football 26 this year.
THE CFB 26 TRAILER LOOKS INCREDIBLE, BUT THAT deluxe edition COVER IS THE REAL STAR
The trailer is of course here for you to check out, but I want to talk about the cover for the Deluxe Edition of the game. When I first saw it, I scanned it for players I recognized and caught on that coaches were now involved and that was cool. But what brought the biggest possible smile to my face was the guy standing just off to the side of human highlight reel Ryan Wiliams. Holding a football, in a fire USC jacket is the human highlight reel of my teen years, Reggie Bush.
If you weren’t there from 2003 to 2005 and all you had to go off of was his NFL stats, you might wonder what’s the big deal. I’m telling you, that man was different. But the aforementioned NCAA decided to get involved and took his Heisman Trophy, and he was invisible in the college world for years. Until last year where his trophy was returned and everyone realized that they were acting like idiots. There’s way more there, but I do realize this is a gaming vertical, so I’ll get to the game. It’s just really awesome to see Reggie there and I’m glad he’s getting that recognition again.
let’s get into what’s in the game
We have real life coaches! Over 300 of them will be lending their likeness to the game. If Bill Belichick’s Madden stance holds here though, we won’t get him. But then again, with the way things are with him now, who knows? We’ll get to see Ryan Day pacing the sidelines looking utterly puzzled just like in real life. No, I don’t care that Ohio State just won the National Championship. I’m a Badgers fan. Irrational hate will always win out. Beyond that, the game boasts over 2,700 new plays and a revamped Homefield Advantage system.
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the wear and tear system from College Football 25, but it’s back and enhanced now. Apparently, you won’t have to move through menus to manage it. Maybe that’ll ease my dislike of it. We’ll see. There is one bullet point I’m most excited to see play out and it’s this:
Foundational Football Advancements: Enhanced AI, dynamic play-calling adjustments, improved blocking and coverages plus new features like Dynamic Substitutions and custom zones give you more control on both sides of the ball, so you can show your opponent what your program is made of.
Last year’s game was solid. But you could see the team was still trying to figure out how they wanted it to feel. They made it much faster than Madden, but there was some stuff to work out as far as AI. Like the absolutely infuriating, consistent roughing the kicker penalties on punts. I can’t tell you how annoying it was to get a crucial stop and end up giving up 15 yards. All because you forgot that you had to control the outside man. If you didn’t, the CPU would just run him around the block and straight into the punter.
dynasty mode will forever be my college football go to, but road to glory is always solid
Crossplay Dynasty Mode? Sign me up. This is the dream we all had back in 2013 when NCAA Football was released. I can’t wait. Especially with these upgrades to the mode:
Dynasty: Build a coaching powerhouse from the ground up. Recruit based on location, fit your roster to your scheme, and navigate today’s college football world—from the high school pipeline to the transfer portal. Customize playbooks and staff archetypes, then chase glory in the expanded College Football Playoff with cross-play support in Online Dynasty across Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation®5†. Keep your promises with all-new Dynamic Dealbreakers to avoid transfers and preserve team chemistry, and upload your program using advanced Team Builder customization tools.
And getting Road to Glory to run us through high school with the added Madden 26 support? We’re all the way back baby.
Road to Glory: The unmatched student-athlete experience returns. Start in high school, build your highlight tape, and secure offers from your top schools. Make key decisions about your academics, NIL opportunities, playing time, and even when to decommit. Rise to become a Heisman winner—and easily continue your football journey into the NFL in EA SPORTS
Madden NFL 26.
I’ll be ready to line it up with some friends and this time hopefully, actually see a full season through. My job situation has changed for the better since our last attempt (It’s this job. This is the better job) and I got time today. It’s been a long road back to having a College Football game. And I think it might actually be safe to accept it’s really back. In the words of Bart Scott, can’t wait.
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