With just over a month to go until the official release of EA Sports College Football 25, most fans are already eager to learn more. So, I will keep a close eye on any news on this front to keep you updated.

Release Date & Cover Stars

College Football 25 has a release date of July 19, 2024. However, as with most EA releases, one of the pre-order bonuses is the ability to play three days early. This means that those who buy it before release can start on July 16, 2024.

This is EA’s first college alternative to Madden NFL 24 since NCAA Football 14, and the cover stars will be Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, and Donovan Edwards.

Trailer

We now know the release date of College Football 25, and we have received a trailer that was recently released. We are looking forward to some old-fashioned recruiting in Dynasty mode.

College Football 25 trailer shows off all the intricate details that are returning to the series, such as lifelike mascots, jerseys, locker rooms, and stadiums. It also confirms the original four teams: Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Alabama.

Dynasty Mode & Road To Glory Will Return

Now back in NCAA 14, Dynasty Mode and Road to Glory quickly became fan favorites, and the return of these modes just 10 years later means a lot to a lot of people.

According to EA, both Dynasty Mode and Road to Glory will feature a transfer portal and NIL, which will add more depth and complexity to team building and individual journeys. While no further information has been released on exactly how this will work, I expect to learn more about this in future data mining.

College Awards

Speaking of major college awards, Heisman Trophy has been confirmed to be in the game, which is undoubtedly a big win for many fans.

However, EA failed to reach an agreement with College Football Awards Association, resulting in major achievements, such as Maxwell Award and Jim Thorpe Award being excluded.

Still, players can expect alternative awards like best QB and best running back to recognize outstanding performances, both in Dynasty Mode and Road to Glory.

College Football Playoffs

But the excitement doesn’t stop there. The 12-team College Football Playoffs will debut in the game, giving us a preview of what it will look like before NCAA football season begins.

It was previously revealed that the developers will be tailoring it for Conferences, but there’s no word yet on changes to Playoff format and the number of teams that will be able to enter Playoffs.

FCS Teams Might Be Missing

While FCS teams won’t be in the initial release, all 134 FBS teams, including their stadiums, unique uniforms, and different college traditions, will be in the game.

In addition, EA has hinted that FCS teams may be added to subsequent updates or future games. The good news is that more than 11,000 college football players have opted in to the game, including star players like Travis Hunter, Jalen Milroe, Shedeur Sanders, Shilo Sanders, Quinn Ewers, Dillon Gabriel, Carson Beck, and more.

Opted Out Players

Sadly, as one of the biggest names, Arch Manning will opt out of NCAA 25, but it is said that players who opt out will have a chance to rejoin. In this case, players who opt out like Arch Manning will have a chance to rejoin and be added in the next roster update.

One important update about the opted out players is that we will not be able to edit these players and enter their real names into the game. Instead, EA will use generic players based on the traditional strengths or weaknesses of a position at that school over the past decade.

While this may disappoint some fans, it is EA’s way of protecting the privacy of players who opt out. Unfortunately, real-life coaches will also not appear in this year’s game, but EA remains optimistic that they will be added in future versions.

Diverse Gameplay

Even without real coaches this year, EA says the game has almost 134 different ways to play, ensuring that each team stays true to their real-life playing style, tactics, traditions, and recruiting strategies.

This is tremendous news for people who want to play NCAA. It allows them to get a feel for what it’s like to be a part of a college football team, whether you’re the hotshot coming out of high school or trying to lead the biggest underdog to a national championship.

Broadcasting Improvements

More exciting news has recently emerged on social media, with Chris Fowler talking about the final NCAA broadcast taping phase. He shared that he and Kirk Herbstreit are preparing for the final taping, where they will simulate the small talk in the broadcast booth and fine-tune the high-intensity calls.

As an example, Fowler said he wasn’t happy with a broadcast call in Ohio State vs Michigan matchup, when Ohio State ran a 75-yard touchdown on the opening play. He emphasized the meticulous attention to detail in this game, and the feeling of expressing excitement when the big plays happen, just like in real life.

Additionally, on Pat McAfee Show, Kirk Herbstreit hinted that there might be different broadcast booths depending on the type of game you're playing. This means that there will be different announcers depending on the type of game being played.

I think that adding this feature would be one of the best additions to sports games ever. Not only would it be more refreshing and realistic to have different announcers for each game, but having different voices telling us how nicely we reacted to each play.

Ultimate Team

Another confirmed feature in NCAA 25 is Ultimate Team, but very little information has been revealed about the mode other than EA trying to reduce the “pay to play” aspect of Ultimate Team. If you’ve played Madden Ultimate Team, you probably know that investing CFB 25 coins into your team is almost a must. This is something EA wants to eliminate, as it significantly affects your team’s competitiveness.

However, while this has been made clear, the specifics remain to be seen. EA is aiming to attract casual gamers and college football fans, and by reducing in-game payments, it could potentially attract more people to Ultimate Team.

Are you guys interested in playing Ultimate Team? Which players would you like to see join the game?

As we get closer to the official launch in July, EA is starting to ramp up its marketing efforts, putting up posters promoting the game at major universities like Ohio State, Florida State, Florida, Texas A&M, and Michigan. Let me know what you think and which modes you most or least looking forward to. I’ll see you in the next update!