EA Sports College Football 25: Everything you need to know
Mar. 25, 2024The classic NCAA series gets reinvented with College Football 25, and here are all the details to get you excited
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College Football 25 trailer
The first EA College Football 25 trailer offers a glimpse at all the intricacies on offer in the series' return, such as lifelike mascots, jerseys, locker rooms, and stadiums. It also confirmed the first four teams: Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Hit the image above to give it a watch.
Is EA College Football 25 just NCAA Football 25 under a different name? Kind of, although there’s a key legal difference. The National Collegiate Athletic Associationwere accused of failing to compensate its players for appearing in EA’s games, which led to a lawsuit from some of the players in question – and the end of that series with NCAA Football 14. As a result, this is indeed considered the 21st game in EA’s non-NFL football series – but it no longer bears the NCAA name.
Given the lawsuit mentioned above, EA has been super careful when securing College Football 25 real players. Those who agreed to be included receive a $600 flat payment and a copy of the game, in reward for their likeness being used. The good news is that this strategy has worked, and more than 11,000 college athletes are present and correct. Archie Manning is one of them, despite rumors to the contrary. Wondering who tops the EA College Football 25 player ratings? Hit ourCollege Football 25 best playersguide to find out.
All 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams feature in College Football 25. That means newer additions to the association, such as the James Madison Dukes and Jacksonville State Gamecocks, are playable for the first time ever in an EA game. But how does that play out in terms of College Football 25 ratings? Great question. Below are the default top ten rosters – and you can see a longer list in our EACollege Football 25 best teamsguide.
The return of Dynasty mode is a huge boost – it’s why many proclaimed NCAA stronger than Madden. One of the key differences is recruiting. Instead of wheeling and dealing, players have to be scouted and approached while in high school, playing the strengths and weaknesses of your college off against those of rival programs.
Recruiting is now split into three phases: Discovery, Pitch and Close. In Discovery, you uncover details on your targeted prospects, such as their skills, and whether they’re a good fit for your program. At the end of this process each player reveals their top five schools, and you move into the Pitch phase – selling your college to them, in the hope that it tempts them to join. Last up, in Close, it’s time to host official visits, before seeing how well your targeting has gone on National Signing Day. It’s unbelievably addictive – and you can get good at it fast with GR’sCollege Football 25 recruitingguide.
Another important element of Dynasty mode is Redshirting, whereby you can sit a player for a year in order to keep them for five seasons rather than four. Find out how to do so using ourCollege Football 25 redshirtguide.
Is EA College Football 25 just a reskinned version of Madden 25? Nope! While the game is based on the same engine, it’s exclusive to PS5 and XBox Series X, and places a huge focus on a feature called CampusIQ. This sees player ratings change in-game, a dynamic wear and tear system, and various clever ways of implementing home-team advantage. That can make it tough to win road games, with field goals especially difficult to nail. Improve your skills with ourCollege Football 25 tipscollection.
Instead, EA College Football 25 awards are fictional. However, the Heisman Trophy does feature. That’s because it’s operated by a different organization to the NCFAA – the Heisman Trust.
Our EA College Football 25 guide help doesn’t end here. As well as the links above, we also have a scouting report on theCollege Football 25 best playbooksto assist on both offense and defense.College Football 25 slidersenable you make gameplay more realistic in an assortment of ways, whileCollege Football 25 abilitiesare the varsity equivalent ofMadden 24 X-Factors. And for extra special first downs, interceptions and touchdowns, you need GR’sCollege Football 25 celebrationsguide.
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I’m GamesRadar’s sports editor, and obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB, AEW, and occasionally things that don’t have a three-letter acronym – such as Chvrches, Bill Bryson, and Streets Of Rage 4. (All the Streets Of Rage games, actually.) Even after three decades I still have a soft spot for Euro Boss on the Amstrad CPC 464+.
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