College Football Video Game '25

[arrowryan]

I’m at over 480 hours played and almost as many Nattys. Though I haven’t actually ran one with ND.

I’ve gotta be right around that number or maybe even higher

 

[Dale]

Wishlist:

- Dynamic recruiting pipelines (like in 14)
- Portal overhaul (increased amount, reason for transfer etc)
- Wear and Tear change
- Formation Subs on main screen
- Fix overpowered position changes

The overall gameplay and playbooks are solid. The ratings were overpowered to begin with (I think intentionally) but they’ve already adjusted them down.

 

[NDPhilly]

#ad lol

 

[bkess8]

Wishlist. Fix the option! That’s it!

 

[IrishLion]

Wishlist. Fix the option! That’s it!

I'm sure there's a reason related to the way the RPO controls are supposed to work...

But it still screws me up that when running a read, it's "Hold X to Keep the Ball" rather than "Hold X to Give the Ball"

 

[Dale]

Wishlist. Fix the option! That’s it!

That they made every pitch perfect randomly with a recent patch? lol

 

[IrishLion]

Wishlist:

- Dynamic recruiting pipelines (like in 14)
- Portal overhaul (increased amount, reason for transfer etc)
- Wear and Tear change
- Formation Subs on main screen
- Fix overpowered position changes

The overall gameplay and playbooks are solid. The ratings were overpowered to begin with (I think intentionally) but they’ve already adjusted them down.

Formation subs and packages need a big-time overhaul, especially if wear-and-tear will continue to be a thing.

You can't make a mechanic punishing enough that I need to sub my RB every three plays, but at the same time make it extremely difficult to sub that player out if I'm using "Coach Suggestions" as a base. And it seems the auto-sub percentages are never true to what you're looking for.

 

[arrowryan]

Anyone on Xbox want to join a league that advances every 2-3 days? The IE Xbox league was fun but died out rather quickly.

 

[Dale]

Formation subs and packages need a big-time overhaul, especially if wear-and-tear will continue to be a thing.

You can't make a mechanic punishing enough that I need to sub my RB every three plays, but at the same time make it extremely difficult to sub that player out if I'm using "Coach Suggestions" as a base. And it seems the auto-sub percentages are never true to what you're looking for.

I’ve got decent auto subs success with something like 92/86 at RB but yeah the main issue is Wear and Tear and Stamina are two different things. You can have heavy W&T and not be “tired” stamina wise to auto sub out

 

[greyhammer90]

I'vet not played in a minute but is there any way to just turn off the wear and tear system in Settings? I remember it was needlessly difficult to just run the ball on an overmatched opponent because your rb would lose stats faster than the defense would tire out. Generally the opposite happens in real life, where the offense starts to lean on the defense. Really screwed up the simulation of an actual game of football.

The inability to change the option controls was controller settings malpractice. Awful decision to change in the first place but having no option to manually switch it back was unforgivable.

 

[NorthDakota]

I agree. It’s been my go to game since its release. Love the online dynasty mode. Is it perfect no. Would like to see what changes they’ve made to it for 26.

If you've played EA games in the past you already know the answer to the last question

 

[NDVirginia19]

I'vet not played in a minute but is there any way to just turn off the wear and tear system in Settings? I remember it was needlessly difficult to just run the ball on an overmatched opponent because your rb would lose stats faster than the defense would tire out. Generally the opposite happens in real life, where the offense starts to lean on the defense. Really screwed up the simulation of an actual game of football.

The inability to change the option controls was controller settings malpractice. Awful decision to change in the first place but having no option to manually switch it back was unforgivable.

The concept of wear and tear is great. The execution is awful. Runningbacks after like 3 carries would all of a sudden have -10 speed for the rest of the game. Made absolutely no sense. Needs to have a slider

 

[ACamp1900]

I'vet not played in a minute but is there any way to just turn off the wear and tear system in Settings? I remember it was needlessly difficult to just run the ball on an overmatched opponent because your rb would lose stats faster than the defense would tire out. Generally the opposite happens in real life, where the offense starts to lean on the defense. Really screwed up the simulation of an actual game of football.

The inability to change the option controls was controller settings malpractice. Awful decision to change in the first place but having no option to manually switch it back was unforgivable.

Yes you can turn off wear and tear,…

For me RTG was the most obvious mode needing attention. I like to play as a DB/kick returner who tries to get offensive snaps, that was my actual path in school so yeah.

As a DB, at least as far as I could tell and I really tried, you never get the option to play offense, no matter how good your hands are.

I became NDs kick returner specialist in year one, and put up great stats as a returner but all of it was simmed. You cannot play special teams snaps, at least not as a DB. It only lets you play the defensive snaps instead of playing any snaps your character is involved in.

I broke the starting rotation in week three my freshman year as a 82 rated freshman behind BenMo. In 9 games I tallied three forced fumbles, countless pass break ups and broke NDs record for ints in a season with 13…. Guess how much I grew that season? Two points. A historic season took my character from 82 to 84.

No off-season growth for your character at all while your teammates get the expected bump. So, freshman starter, finished 84 and broke school records but didn’t grow so I went from expected number 1 with Ben Mo gone to 3rd in the depth chart bc everyone else exploded ratings wise,…

They need to give experience points for everything. If I lock down cover a guy all game and never get thrown at they should you a bunch of xp for that, bc some of these routes are really hard to lock in on, but it doesn’t. You only get xp for plays you are physically involved in finishing. Pass breakups, ints, tackles and forced fumbles,… those are the only things you get xp during a game, so again, if I lockdown my side of the field all game it gives you nothing. If I do well in practice it should give me xp, but it doesn’t. You should get offseason training xp, but you don’t.

Last the camera angles, my lord… there’s only three angles you can use as a DB and each has a massive fatal flaw. The first you face the line of scrimmage, but you cant see the qb at all most of the time and if a player slips into your zone above you from like a deep crossing route you can’t tell, while again not being able to see the qb. There’s no way to pivot your line of sight. With this one you can only play deep zone effectively while giving everything away underneath every snap. In another you can see most the field but it’s so high and at such a strange angle that once the ball is in the open field good luck ever lining the tackle up properly, if you do it was pure luck. The third is so close that you only see what’s in your zone so the qb and any play anywhere else on the field is just,… Lulz, what happened??? The only camera I found to be functional is the high odd angle one but again if a running play or qb scramble breaks towards you, good luck making the tackle bc the angle and height of the camera

The whole mode needs a redesign imo

 

[Dale]

Yeah I think Wear and Tear generally does fine and is a good add. Which is why I don’t turn it off. Really Power RB specifically is the one spot it causes issues for me. Because you’re tempted to truck stick but you do it a handful of carries in a row and you’re hurt. The Aftershock ability is also overpowered if you run into an opponent with one.

 

[arrowryan]

Yeah I think Wear and Tear generally does fine and is a good add. Which is why I don’t turn it off. Really Power RB specifically is the one spot it causes issues for me. Because you’re tempted to truck stick but you do it a handful of carries in a row and you’re hurt. The Aftershock ability is also overpowered if you run into an opponent with one.

Wear and tear seems to overpowered to me. One or two hits and my RB is cooked. Last night I had 3 players on defense in yellow before the first snap lol.

 

[MacIrish75]

I hate that once you get into All-American mode, the opposing DBs--even random 2* guys on G5 teams all turn into Charles Woodson, Champ Bailey, Kyle Hamilton, and Ed Reed.

 

[ACamp1900]

I hate that once you get into All-American mode, the opposing DBs--even random 2* guys on G5 teams all turn into Charles Woodson, Champ Bailey, Kyle Hamilton, and Ed Reed.

Yeah I got to a point to where even on Heisman I win every game,… a few things with this:

First you are right, even tho I win every game, so many routes are 100% off the board bc yeah the cpu dbs are insane. Even if your guy is ten yard open, they can leap the difference and your qb stats are just stupid. So you learn to only throw underneath or when they press cover knowing that’s an easy td. Which is dumb

Next, they need other ways to make Heisman challenging other than just cheap dbs and unstoppable cpu qbs. Because you learn how to work the cheapness of the cpu, then play a friend online and it’s a TOTALLY different game lol. They need to find a way to make the cpu play more human if that make sense. I guess I mean make it legit challenging without knowing full well the only way a cpu team can make it a game, which leads me to:

Tackling, my goodness broken tackles for your guys almost do not exist on Heisman, the other way around??? The cpu only really scores on int returns and on five broken tackle runs after an impossible across the field throw to avoid a sack by the cpu qb. It’s just not well made in that respect. Make the cpu better without making it cheaper and more redundant. And yeah, fix the dbs bc there are routes in this game that legit can never be run on Heisman, it’s an instat int no matter how open the receiver is when the ball is delivered

 

[ACamp1900]

Yall are right in the option too. Again, on Heisman the read option is one of two things when you run it. A guaranteed three yards if you give to the back or a guaranteed loss if you keep. The correct read doesn’t really matter. The game just has it wired to play out that way.

Now, the read option for the cpu??? That’s a good example how it can make the game more challenging without making it cheaper. My last season with nd, SCum had a bad team but a legit Lamar Jackson type qb and a good rb. So they run an almost impossible to stop read option like twice all game and drop back pass all game and I pick them off five times,…. The cpu needs to have an AI element that plays to its strengths

 

[ACamp1900]

One last thing,… early release points. I hate ultimate team modes. They just aren’t for me. But if you buy a game early release, fifa, Madden, the show, and yes eacfb, you get ‘points’ that can only be used in ultimate team. I have all these unused points for all these games over the years. Let me apply that to a recruiting boost in franchise or xp boosts in RTG. Just another lil gripe I have

 

[NDVirginia19]

Formation subs and packages need a big-time overhaul, especially if wear-and-tear will continue to be a thing.

You can't make a mechanic punishing enough that I need to sub my RB every three plays, but at the same time make it extremely difficult to sub that player out if I'm using "Coach Suggestions" as a base. And it seems the auto-sub percentages are never true to what you're looking for.

Absolutely insane that something as simple as "In this formation I want to have this WR Here and this RB in" which has been in the EA football series for like two decades at this point. Somehow didn't make it in CFB25

 

[notredomer23]

One last thing,… early release points. I hate ultimate team modes. They just aren’t for me. But if you buy a game early release, fifa, Madden, the show, and yes eacfb, you get ‘points’ that can only be used in ultimate team. I have all these unused points for all these games over the years. Let me apply that to a recruiting boost in franchise or xp boosts in RTG. Just another lil gripe I have

I actually had high hopes for Ultimate Team because there's actually enough CFB teams out there for there to be a huge pool of players, which is part of why FIFA's ultimate team is the best. Just so many players from so many leagues, in a way Madden and other US sport games can't match. But the way they rolled it out for CFB stunk IMO and I didn't end up playing after the first try.

I still play Road to CFB playoff regularly. I am up and down between the Heisman and All-American divisions.

 

[Dale]

Defense on Heisman versus CPU is challenging/impossible when you’re at a ratings disadvantage or even but I find it worth the grind. At this point if I play All American against the CPU I can go undefeated with just about any team in the game (humble brag). The game “breaks” on Heisman to make it hard but I’ve just accepted it.

If you’re struggling on AA still, speed, speed and more speed at every position. Once your LBs and DBs are all fast, it’ll change your life playing defense.

 

[ACamp1900]

Defense on Heisman versus CPU is challenging/impossible when you’re at a ratings disadvantage or even but I find it worth the grind. At this point if I play All American against the CPU I can go undefeated with just about any team in the game (humble brag). The game “breaks” on Heisman to make it hard but I’ve just accepted it.

If you’re struggling on AA still, speed, speed and more speed at every position. Once your LBs and DBs are all fast, it’ll change your life playing defense.

Yeah when I’m UTEP playing Nebraska on Heisman you have to rely on money plays to get stops,… no doubt. Once you recruit up tho,… either way it’s just not what it should be. This was the most frustratingly predictable, problematic release of this game with the exception of that first 360 era game that was a huge graphics upgrade but had everything stripped from it. That’s the only release I can remember that left me shrugging my shoulders like this one

 

[ACamp1900]

The difficulty thing,… this is not a brag bc I’m not that good at this game. Maybe 500 record online and against friends. But the cou is so predictable that even on Heisman once you ‘learn’ the game you can’t lose unless the cpu has a huge ratings difference. I took UTEP on my latest run on Heisman, no slider adjustments at all. Only lost to Texas in year one on a last second td kick return. Won two nattys and took the nd job and I’m in year four, three nattys and the only loss was a playoff loss to lsu that I simmed bc I was getting bored. The cpu, even on Heisman is so predictable and if they start cheesing you, you can easily cheese them back with nickel mid blitz lol… idk the game seemed more ‘scripted’ than in the past. What I mean is certain plays never work in the exact same way all the time. Others work every time also in the exact same way,… they need to really work on that but we know how that will go

 

[greyhammer90]

The difficulty thing,… this is not a brag bc I’m not that good at this game. Maybe 500 record online and against friends. But the cou is so predictable that even on Heisman once you ‘learn’ the game you can’t lose unless the cpu has a huge ratings difference. I took UTEP on my latest run on Heisman, no slider adjustments at all. Only lost to Texas in year one on a last second td kick return. Won two nattys and took the nd job and I’m in year four, three nattys and the only loss was a playoff loss to lsu that I simmed bc I was getting bored. The cpu, even on Heisman is so predictable and if they start cheesing you, you can easily cheese them back with nickel mid blitz lol… idk the game seemed more ‘scripted’ than in the past. What I mean is certain plays never work in the exact same way all the time. Others work every time also in the exact same way,… they need to really work on that but we know how that will go

There's a particular route on ND's playbook that has the slot reciever line up inside and run toward the back corner of the endzone on his side of the field. Its an absolutely busted route. Corner either gets burned or tries to pass it off to a safety who is always out of postion because the pass off happens late in the play. The funny thing is that I think they knew it was busted because they've programmed it so even accurate QBs have a 25% chance of overthrowing the easy pass way out of bounds. Like comically out of bounds.

 

[GowerND11]

The difficulty thing,… this is not a brag bc I’m not that good at this game. Maybe 500 record online and against friends. But the cou is so predictable that even on Heisman once you ‘learn’ the game you can’t lose unless the cpu has a huge ratings difference. I took UTEP on my latest run on Heisman, no slider adjustments at all. Only lost to Texas in year one on a last second td kick return. Won two nattys and took the nd job and I’m in year four, three nattys and the only loss was a playoff loss to lsu that I simmed bc I was getting bored. The cpu, even on Heisman is so predictable and if they start cheesing you, you can easily cheese them back with nickel mid blitz lol… idk the game seemed more ‘scripted’ than in the past. What I mean is certain plays never work in the exact same way all the time. Others work every time also in the exact same way,… they need to really work on that but we know how that will go

I do also hate that there are games where it's like you're programed to lose. I had a game against Auburn in a dynasty that I lost 41-0. I had 100 yards of total offense... every single pass play was covered, and runs were stuffed. Didn't matter the formation, didn't matter the play call. If a WR was open, I couldn't hit him because a DE was coming in untouched by my LT or RT for a sack or hit as I threw.

I can handle losing in a game. I can't handle when the game decides you WILL lose this one. Takes the fun out of it.

 

[arrowryan]

There’s a route that the CPU slot receiver will run sometimes and I’m pretty sure it’s not even possible for us to run it. It starts off as a drag across the middle then he cuts up the middle of the field on a vertical. I’ve never seen that route before until a few weeks ago

 

[ACamp1900]

The press coverage thing is game breaking,… they really need to address that, cpu, player v player,… doesn’t matter. If you see your guy beat the press you know it’s a td. Every time

 

[notredomer23]

There’s a route that the CPU slot receiver will run sometimes and I’m pretty sure it’s not even possible for us to run it. It starts off as a drag across the middle then he cuts up the middle of the field on a vertical. I’ve never seen that route before until a few weeks ago

This play? I've found it pretty unstoppable against 2 high safeties in Nickel.

 

[GowerND11]

View attachment 3058997

This play? I've found it pretty unstoppable against 2 high safeties in Nickel.

Speaking of this... Those post corner plays just never work. I know the go to on this is the in and up or the safety valve of the other underneath route, but yeah.