It is wild to say, but EA Sports’ revival of the NCAA franchise — now known as EA Sports CFB — is in its Junior year [year three… this game didn’t have a red-shirt season].
And there’s a lot to cheer for in this year’s outing, as EA Orlando has settled into things and created something that feels like what they’ve been envisioning since the reboot, paired with a healthy dose of comfortable repetition and a handful of that classic EA jank you can’t help but love.
New positions, same school days
Let’s start with the “Rod to Glory” (RTG) solo campaign.
There are three new positions up for grabs this season — tight end, edge rusher, and free safety.
All three of these roles play the same as their predecessors, first requiring you to prove your “Football IQ” by completing skills-based plays in high school before packing for college or university.
At the college level, the big change this time out is the addition of scholarship bonuses.
Up until this point, your high school play was a very exciting way to get onto your favourite school’s depth chart, and that was it. It didn’t really matter how you performed in high school, but you weren’t likely to end up high in the depth chart on a Big 10 or SEC team unless you were able to maintain four or five stars, and that was the extent of high school.
Showing you understand the real-life game and EA Sports’ simulation through your high school play this year will net you scholarships.
These scholarships will offer you better bonuses throughout your weekly schedule, with better deals from better schools, depending on how you perform.
You’ll also be able to upgrade these bonuses over the years to some extent, based on the prestige of the school you represent.
I have to say I have a love-hate relationship with the way scholarships work, and I mean this most positively.
Thanks to the way scholarships impact the spreadsheet-like nature of your weekly agenda, and paired with the new “Legacy Points” system, the progression metas have changed.
The past few years, my goal has been to land at the top of the depth sheet at a lower prestige school like Buffalo or Wyoming and have a standout true Freshman season, then transfer portal my way to the top of Michigan or Oregon and take at least a couple of Natty titles before moving into Madden.
In CFB 27, the chase is on to accumulate Legacy Points and push the line on the new graph up as soon as you step on campus.
The graph will show you a score indicating where you stand in NFL draft contention, and it will feature detailed points on what raises and lowers your stock, with images. For example, a star badge will indicate you entered as a five-star recruit, thus meaning your stock is high. Lose a rivalry game, and you’ll be forced to look at a dip on the chart marked by the opposing team’s logo, the team’s image of the trophy you handed them.
You may start as a true Freshman at Buffalo, yet you might find sticking to the sidelines at a lower-ranked school in a prestige division like Maryland or Iowa in the Big 10, Vanderbilt or the University of South Carolina in the SEC might be a better start for you, as these schools now offer better training environments and faster development. They’ll also improve your draft stock and make it easier to navigate the transfer portal, as they offer more rivalry games and other opportunities to generate Legacy Points.
These new additions add significant weight to RTG, making it a more meaningful experience to be part of. But they also mean I’m going to be spending a lot more time thinking about what created players I’m shifting off to Madden this year.
The cost of a dynasty
Similarly, “Dynasty” has added weight this year, as EA Orlando has almost completely redesigned the management and recruiting systems.
Gone are the days when you could take over schools that start with big recruiting measures like Michigan State or USC and build a five-star all-around Natty contender in just a couple of seasons.
There are still schools that start with an easier or harder experience than others, and they are now marked much better. But EA Orlando has balanced things out by adding new goals that you’ll need to hit when you sign a contract. For example, Michigan State may not be super interested in winning a Natty. Still, you better believe they are looking for a coach to bring home the horrifying Paul Bunion trophy.
During the season, a new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) points system applies to recruiting and managing your school off the field.
Players will now demand that you give them NIL points in addition to a scholarship, with higher-quality schools starting with more of them, while lower schools will require you to earn them by doing things like making a bowl appearance or beating a rival school. Higher-star players will ask for more of these, and several recruits will ask for far more than they are worth.
Not only do you have to navigate overspending on players or figure out how to attract them with the most balanced investments, but there’s also an off-field management aspect now.
Where before, schools had grade ratings for things like academics and facilities that could be raised by decisions you made on the field and ultimately only impacted your recruiting drives, the state of your school affects more this year.
For example, a school like Colorado State may care less about getting a big four- or five-star commitment in recruiting. Still, they may task you with improving workout spaces or providing smoothie bars to help develop the talent they already have.
It takes a savvy coach to determine what’s of value and what’s a waste of NIL.
Ultimate Team Update
EA Orlando has listened to those of us less concerned with the “Ultimate Team” online competitive mode this year, and that’s refreshing.
For those destined for the leaderboards and card shop, there’s still so much to love with the return of “Mascot Madness” and a new card-level progression system that makes it easier than ever to buff players you may love but who aren’t always up to the competitive circuit.
But EA Orlando has moved the game’s training menus out of this mode and eliminated the need to interact with them if you don’t wish to.
EA Sports games have been doing this thing for years: they try to guide you to Ultimate Team, with Madden 26 actually forcing you to play the online mode against computers to unlock some RTG bonuses, in hopes you’ll stick around.
Gone are the strings pulling you in, and it’s refreshing!
It might be small, but it’s great to brush up on my skills in “Training” and then decide to jump into Ultimate Team and get my Irish suit handed to me in “Mascot Madness,” a team of “99 Club” Pistol Petes.
EA Sports College Football: The greatest show on earth
In terms of the football leagues, college football arguably has the best product in terms of presentation.
The pregame shows are bigger than MTC Spring pregame specials and full of spirit; the broadcasts are top-notch and top-tech.
EA Sports College Football has excelled in its presentation since its relaunch. This year, it’s at its best.
Kirk Herbstreit has led the desk with Chris Fowler, but he’s now subbed for Joel Klatt. And despite, Klatt an Fowler representing different broadcasters, the two work well together in offering play-by-play, obviously with the caveat that you’ll hear a lot of reused Fowler lines, especially in ways they aren’t used correctly — like the infamous “Can’t get a first down without getting the touchdown” line that somehow always seems to trigger when I can, in fact, get a first down before entering the endzone.
To add more depth to the broadcast, ESPN’s Holly Rowe is an on-site reporter, handling pre-game and in-game updates, weather, and injury updates.
While EA Sports College Football has, up to this point, done a great job of handling graphical presentation and nailing the almighty college stadium experience — especially home-game entries — there’s a lot more to love in EA Sports College Football 27.
On the field, players now get dynamic graphics that change with player model, equipment and jersey colour.
In the stands, you can now change your supporters’ colour patterns before kickoff. Andy, they also have a new range of dynamic actions, with more variations in fan models.
Keeping a comfy level of “EA Jank”
It’s not to say everything is perfect this year. This is EA after all, and there is a cozy amount of “EA Jank” here.
I lost my entire Diet Coke through my nose during a bowl game in RTG, where my QB for Wisconsin ended up in the Texas Tech pre-game huddle.
I always find myself pregame at who called a timeout when I’m sure I’ve clicked it, only to see the other team’s colour banner.
It’s all extremely comforting — aside from that one RTG error where you get a random play you aren’t even part of that turns into a fumble that makes no sense, and/or a penalty on top of that. Yeah, that bug can kindly go away.
Verdict
EA Sports College Football 27 sees EA Orlando settle right into things in their Junior season since the return of college football sims. This is without a doubt the best the series has ever been, and what it’s been trying to be all along.
There’s weight and reason to Road to Glory and Dynasty this year, with metrics and decisions that matter, and Ultimate Team no longer feels like it’s forced on you.
There’s still a little of that classic EA Jank left that comes with every game off the tob, but here it is actually pretty cozy and endearing.
It’s another good year for EA Sports College Football.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
