Just over a decade ago, EA Sports' NCAA Football video game series unceremoniously went away. Now it’s finally back, but with a fresh coat of paint and a new name,College Football 25.
I had every copy ofEA’s NCAA Football seriesfrom 2001 until the series ended with NCAA Football 2014. As a kid, I’d spend the days before the game released scouring underneath all the couch cushions and cleaning every inch of our parents' car, searching for change and spare dollar bills to come up with as much money as I could before I asked Mom to cover the rest. I’m not alone in my experience, as anticipation for the game has bubbled over on social media. Grown adults aresaying goodbyeto their spouses and children to getdressed up as their favorite team’s coach. Over 700,000 players logged on during the first night of the game’s Early Access (which gaveplayers three days of early accessfor the $100 special edition of the game). At least one grown man cried in front of his TV the first time he booted the game up.
So, now that I’ve finally gotten my hands on it, what are my initial impressions? It’s an absolutely beautiful game, and the way they’ve managed to capture the speed and complexity of college football is amazing. Beyond just playing the actual football games, the team at EA managed to capture the entire vibe of college football, from 100-year-old traditions to newer additions like the College Football Playoff and the transfer portal. It’s a game made by college football fans for college football fans.
EA Sports College Football 25
The first entry in EA’s series since 2013’s NCAA Football 14, EA Sports College Football 25 is a sports sim that focuses on realistically capturing the college football scene.
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Price, availability, and specs
College Football 25 is currently available through EA’s early access program. If you pre-order the special edition, you may play it three days early, but it costs $100. The full release of the game comes on August 14, 2025.
Tradition meets the new world of College Football
A lot has changed in ten years, and it makes for great gaming
College football has undergone a lot of changes since the last version of EA Sports' game was released. The year after NCAA Football 14 was released, the first playoff was used to determine college football’s champion. Since then, we’ve seen the playoffs expand from four teams to 12, major teams switch conferences, and unlimited transfers for players. Rules regarding player compensation for use of their likeness have also been removed, which was one of the big reasons why the original series was discontinued.
That’s the first thing old fans of the game will notice when logging into College Football 25 for the first time: actual players in the game. In the old games, EA used player models that looked vaguely similar to their real-life counterparts but didn’t use the players' names to circumvent NIL rules. So, if the starting quarterback at your favorite school wore number one, his name in the game would be QB#1. Now you’ll just see the player’s name. After that, it’s just thrilling to be back in the world of an EA college football video game. The inclusion of new parts of the college football world, like the new playoff format and the transfer portal, are also super fun features that weren’t available in the old games.
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All those new features would be wasted, though, if the game’s developers didn’t understand what makes college football so great: the traditions and pageantry. With the help of updated graphics, the team behind College Football 25 faithfully recreated just about every team’s traditions, large and small. That’s not just animations you’ll see pregame, though. Penn State’s crowd will do a white-out once for big games, Wisconsin’s crowd will lose their minds when Jump Around plays in the third quarter of their home games. If your favorite team has a song or a sound they make during big third downs, you’ll hear it in the game. I noticed Coastal Carolina played a techno song on all the big third downs as I played with them.
The same goes for teams' playbooks. College football has a lot more variety than the NFL does when it comes to types of offenses, and EA nailed every team’s playbook, from theslow mesh at Wake Forest, the triple option at the service academies, and the widespread use of RPOs. Here’s some of the gameplay using the triple option offense. It’s taken some adjustments using the offense with the new controls.
Dynasty mode
As authentic as it gets
Dynasty mode was the staple feature of the old NCAA Football games. It lets you create your own coach and begin a 30-year career at a school of your choosing. College Football 25 has managed to improve on the older versions of Dynasty mode in every way.
Once I booted up the game, I started a Dynasty as the University of Miami and quickly took care of the Florida Gators. You get to choose from three types of archetypes for your coaches' skill tree: Recruiter, Motivator, and Tactician. The real fun in Dynasty mode comes from taking a small-time program and turning it into a powerhouse to rival the likes of Ohio State and Alabama. So I set my sights on bringing a national title to the Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers. So far, I’ve completed two full seasons, simulating most of my games but playing a few of the bigger ones each season. I also created my own playbook, so I could mess around with some of the more unique offenses in the game. The main thing you’ll notice as you play is how much fun the playoffs make the end of every season. Seeing the bracket and advancing past multiple premier teams is a cool new experience for college football fans.
EA also nailed adding new players to your team through recruiting and the transfer portal. You get a certain amount of hours each week as you advance through the season to dedicate towards recruiting high school players to your team. Then, in the offseason, transfers from other schools are added into the mix. Recruiting is much harder than it was previously, especially at smaller schools, but not impossible. I managed to pull a few four-star players to Coastal Carolina in my first two seasons, but the transfer portal was where I had the most fun. Convincing players I recognized from other teams, like Nyck Harbour and DJ Lagway, to join my roster was really cool and felt very true to how college football works.
you may also create an online Dynasty with up to 32 other players. Cross-play is available across consoles, too. You’ll just have to wait for each player to finish their tasks before advancing each week.
The other ways to play
More to do besides Dynasty mode
The two other main game modes in College Football 25 are Road to Glory and Ultimate Team.
Road to Glory lets you create your own legacy as a player. You begin as a recruit and choose how good you want your player to start out using four options: Elite (start as a 79 overall), Blue Chip (75 overall), Contributor (70 overall), and Underdog (60 overall). From there, you can choose which school you’d like to attend and start your college playing career. You’ll have to practice to improve your player and eventually see the field during games. You’ll also have to manage your grades and how interested you are in making money off the field. It’s been fun to mess around with the early part of the game mode, but it hasn’t been my favorite way to play the game so far.
Ultimate Team, on the other hand, is a little more intriguing. In this mode, you build a team by assembling card packs. You’ll start with a roster of lower-rated versions of players from college teams. Some of your roster will be composed of players from whichever team you choose as your favorite. Since I chose Miami, I have low-rated versions of players like Cam Ward and Damian Martinez. you may unlock higher-rated players or improve the players already on your roster by unlocking card packs, completing goals, and playing games. I had a lot of fun playing with this mode. The special edition of College Football 25 included some Ultimate Team player packs that let me select from some of this year’s top players and last year’s top draft picks who are about to start their NFL careers.
EA Sports College Football 25 is finally here
Early access for players who bought the special edition version of the game kicks off at 4pm EST today. It’s been 10 years since the last version of the game was released, and I can’t wait to run through the smoke with the Miami Hurricanes. What are some of the college football traditions, like Clemson touching Howard’s Rock as they enter the stadium, or FSU’s Chief Osceola planting the spear at midfield before kickoff, that you’re most looking forward to seeing in the new game?
Verdict: College Football 25 is worth the wait
When NCAA Football 2014 came out, I was still in college. Since then, I’ve gotten married and had a kid, but I’ve always returned to the game, mainly because there was no other option. I used to play Madden regularly, but that series' slow decay in quality in the years since NCAA left our lives led me to stop playing it all together. Not that long ago, I couldn’t have imagined that I would go years without touching a version of Madden, but that’s just how fall the professional football simulator had fallen off in my eyes. That was my main fear when College Football 25 was announced. I envisioned a re-skinned version of Madden. Luckily, that’s not what happened with College Football 25.
EA brought back Ben Haumiller who worked on the original NCAA series for a decade. To help build the game, they hired a team of guys who helped create NCAA Revamped, a modded-out version of NCAA Football 2014 that helped to keep the aging game alive. They worked with 134 teams to get every important facet of college football programs into the new game, including rebuilding every stadium for the new game. And they nailed every single detail.
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