EA Sports College Football 25: A look at gameplay, NIL, Road to Glory, Dynasty with someone who’s played it

Excitement and anticipation surrounding the release of EA Sports’ “College Football 25” is growing ahead of its July 19 release date. Information about the game has been emerging 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 cover athletes. Fans also got their first real look at the game when the company released an official trailer hours after the cover was announced.

All the filming and news rumors have only fueled the excitement for the franchise’s return. Fans have been posting on forums and social media asking about gameplay, dynasty, Road to Glory, stadium models, how NIL will be taken into account and more.

Luckily, 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 launch in less than two months.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Cameron Salerno: What were your initial thoughts after playing?

Bud Elliott: As someone who last played the latest iteration and continued playing for a while, the gameplay is much smoother. It seems to have disappeared about a decade ago and now it’s back. However, it feels different to how Madden plays. It’s a little faster. In the old game, you could wait until the last possible second to pass and the guy usually made it. This is noticeably different. They [also] dedicate a lot of time and energy to really try to make each manual distinct.

The main thing you take away from this is that these guys making the game are not just another sports game they work on. They are absolute college football nerds. They are geeks in every little detail. For example, how Tennessee does the checkerboard or how a different team will do the stripes. That level of detail. They have unique sounds for each team. The mantra they tried to express is that every team is someone’s favorite team, so we want every Division I team that people are playing on to be represented and feel special when they’re playing.

CS: Was there anything else that stood out?

TO BE: I found the ability to do quick pass moves with the right trigger to be very useful. There is [also] a real difference and a reason why you might want to play at all levels of the defense. The kick controls are new and make sense. The first game I played, I had a 7-yard punt shank.

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 difference between the best player in the NFL and the worst is much smaller. Spread ratings are not 99-60. It’s probably 99-30 in some cases.

Age, experience and talent levels mean that certain players will be disproportionately more affected by some of the crazy atmospheres. Faculty [teams] have much more of a home-field advantage than the pros. Some stadiums make more noise, but the truth is that some of these kids are 18 years old. [They] they’re not used to being under real pressure and in a noisy environment like that. Let’s say you go to Death Valley at night with some famous 18-year-old quarterback. You’d better preview your routes because some of them may not appear. Some of these lines may be shaky and wavy. They really tried to simulate giving a team a real home field advantage. Experience and maturity are very important.

CS: Have you had a chance to play the Dynasty or Road to Glory game modes?

TO BE: We didn’t get to play them, but it was probably a 30 or 40 minute performance. Dynasty and Road to Glory are really the big selling points. Compared to Madden, Ultimate Team is heavily emphasized, or at least in comparison. Dynasty looks really amazing.

There is a lot of strategy in terms of recruitment. Every recruit has certain things that are important to him. There is an emphasis on balancing your roster spots and your NIL resources in your recruiting. How many will you study with in high school? How many will you take out of the transfer portal? This matters a lot.

The promises you make to the kids at your school, if you don’t keep them, then the makeup of your lineup probably won’t be as happy. They really try to make it as realistic as possible, which is a big step.

CS: Did you mention how NIL will be managed in the game? How will a team like Alabama, which has a lot of money in NIL, compare to a small Group of Five school, which may not have a lot of money in NIL?

TO BE: So they are not actually using money with NIL. It’s basically the status of the brand. I believe that’s what they called it. So how many brand recognition points do you want to give a guy? … The game has been in development for a few years, and some of these NIL decisions have only very recently been made public with a July release date. NIL is certainly important. You can’t turn Nevada into a national title contender in just three seasons. There is some realism. If you lead Nevada or Air Force to a national title, you’re going to have to play a good number of seasons.

CS: Can you go into more depth about how rebuilding a smaller program can be more difficult than previous editions of the game?

TO BE: The level of school you play at will dictate how much you can actually promise things like going to the NFL, exposure, and branding – which is obviously kind of the code word for NIL. It’s a little more realistic. I used to take the Ohio Bobcats and take them to the national title pretty quickly, but that’s not as easy to do because of all the different prospects that recruits care about. It’s pretty cool because if you take one of these teams to a party, and you do it in six or seven years, that’s pretty cool. This makes the game playable for longer.

CS: How will the training carousel compare to previous editions of the game?

TO BE: There are several coaching courses you can follow. You can start as a head coach or coordinator. I believe you can also start as a position coach. There are different trails you can follow. No one can be an A+ at everything when you’re starting out. It takes a long time to get to Nick Saban’s level. There is a recruiter, strategist, developer or motivator track. In all three of these ranges, you are distributing your attribute points when creating your trainer. This really 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?

TO BE: There are many different things you can do. You have to balance your time. In fact, you could become academically ineligible if you don’t balance your training and NIL opportunities. You really need to manage your player. They talked to coaches and players about modern-day restrictions for guys, which I thought was really cool. I don’t think you can custom name your players because they are trying to make sure you can’t use guys they haven’t accepted. There are some limitations, I believe, (as) some players have chosen not to participate. For example, you can’t just create Arch Manning.

CS: How will the transfer portal be used in the game?

TO BE: It’s really there. Your current happiness at school, the path to playing time, the feedback you’re getting regarding what your coach said would happen. All of these things matter a little.

CS: Any other thoughts on the game?

TO BE: Stadium Mapping Technology Is Much Better Than It Was [in the last game.] I believe they mapped out all the stadiums. The introductions are very good. They built a mound to do motion capture for Clemson, they built a horse to do Renegade for Florida State. That level of detail. They play the right music after certain things happen.

There are no X factors. You have mental and physical abilities. There is a real attrition mode, so you can’t just run the same guy every time. A player will wear out and also increase the chance of injury.

A quick movement can get you closer to the ball on defense. You can become that guy who is closest to the ball. As far as capturing or intercepting users goes, this really helps.

The options game is definitely different. Before you had to actually press that button to pass the ball, now it’s a pull button. If you don’t get anything right, it will be a godsend.