Successful rebuilds require a powerful foundation. After a drought, Alabama’s Nick Saban bolstered his staff with pioneering coordinators like Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin. Urban Meyer urged beloved Gators captain Tim Tebow to inspire his teammates. And during his brief tenure at Texas A&M, Jimbo Fisher secured an extraordinary recruiting class. The road to success is paved in many ways, but EA Orlando knows that college football doesn’t have to be rocket science. In EA Sports College Football 25 (CFB 25), coaching chemistry is a challenging balancing act on a skill tree, locker rooms come alive with unique player skills, and roster recruitment is a tense but rewarding public relations minigame. Like generational talent, CFB 25 has all the intangibles, even if a few minor missteps prevent him from earning unanimous All-American honors.
There’s nothing like the spectacle of college football, and EA Orlando’s respect for the spectacle of American football is evident from the get-go; pirouetting cheerleaders give way to mascots followed by armies of energized players, helmets glinting in the sun. Whether it’s Chief Osceola galloping toward the 50-yard line or Smokey leading the Volunteers’ iconic drive, the CFB 25 fanfare never disappoints. That immersion extends to the pristine presentation on the field as well. After leaving the huddle, my anxious linemen wait for a touchdown while a trio of powerful linebackers turn to the sidelines for guidance. The world vibrates with the menacing bassline of “Mo Bamba,” and as Penn State’s Nick Singleton fires a gaping shot into the sunlight, the white sea of Beaver Stadium erupts. Thankfully, these incredible, atmospheric moments shine through in every matchup, from large friendlies to routine conference matches.
The sleek visuals are paired well with the fast-paced gameplay. Agile playmakers beat defenders on the edge, elusive wide receivers catch passes on the fly, and powerful rushers tear through pockets in a flash. Add to that a wide range of skills, and every play or adjustment before the play has the makings of a memorable moment. Logging balls to high receivers with 50-50 athleticism always seems like an stimulating risk worth taking. And covering up coverages to force interceptions with corner blockers is oh-so-satisfying when met with wild celebrations. The improved movement of the ball carrier is the icing on the cake, as basic stick adjustments make sliding through the trenches, cutting upfield, or breaking away from annoying defenders satisfyingly flashy. CFB 25’s frantic pace and potential for large plays can result in a frustratingly disproportionate number of nail-biting duels, but the fluid controls and lively animations on and off the pitch make it worth playing until the very end.
The modest selection of game modes is less consistent, however. Dynasty shines because a few emerging systems—namely the coaching archetypes and the recruiting process—keep the campaign fascinating long after the large win. As D-Coordinator on a dismal Coastal Carolina team, I made it a point to invest skill points in both the Motivator and Recruiter archetypes, admiring the respectable XP gains my team gets while building relationships by DMing potential players and their families. I love the sluggish progression of Dynasty; from targeting low-star recruits to finally landing a four-star player years after restoring the program’s athletic reputation. Ultimately, my starting lineup of tough outsiders earned a playoff spot. And while I never deliver a national championship to Coastal Carolina, it’s especially cathartic to see my Motivator-Recruiter philosophy pay off when LSU hands me the keys to Death Valley.
Road to Glory, a solid Dynasty alternative, touts an impressive catalog of loadout customization options, but managing a tiny list of stagnant metrics over a three- to four-year career isn’t exactly engaging. When I’m not perfecting RPO passing in practice or kneeling down to play epic regular-season games, I’m allocating a narrow amount of “energy” points to keeping my academics, leadership, health, and brand ratings high. On paper, cramming for an upcoming midterm while also finding time to grow my fandom seems like a fun weekly challenge. In practice, Road to Glory’s off-the-field loop feels like doing chores to gain minor game-day benefits; why try to get a 4.0 GPA if the buff that comes with it is a meager boost to composure? Becoming a starter through successful practices and uncommon in-game opportunities seems like meaningful and lively progress, but navigating status bars to level up forgotten player attributes makes me want to quit my team.
College Ultimate Team (CUT) is nothing up-to-date to the EA Sports landscape: Complete challenges (or spend money) to earn points, buy packs with the points you accumulate to assemble an unstoppable roster, rinse, and repeat. CUT tries to break the mold with fascinating challenges that involve learning the fundamentals of the sport as well as playing through historic moments from past seasons. Its grind will wear out casual players, but the compact trials combined with the stimulating PvP gameplay should serve as a welcome break from Dynasty or Road to Glory. Unfortunately, Road to the CFP feels shockingly shallow compared to its counterparts. Playing a season against other competitors for bragging rights alone might justify a few attempts, but with no real incentive or reward beyond a spot on the leaderboard, Road to the CFP will likely remain a tiny detour.
EA Sports College Football 25 makes the field feel up-to-date again with great visuals that add to the intensity of game day and fluid controls that bring back the moment-to-moment action that makes college football so beloved. I enjoy the tedious, time-consuming process of revitalizing delicate programs in Dynasty, as well as competing with teammates for a coveted starting spot in Road to Glory, but some of the superficial progression systems and game modes are jarring; outside of the campaigns, there simply isn’t enough to see or do. Nevertheless, CFB 25 is a sure-fire spiral in the right direction, and I can’t wait to see how its solid foundation evolves in future releases.
