The unveiling of EA Sports College Football was expected to come on Monday, July 8, during, before, or after the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Washington Huskies for the National Championship.
That news didn’t come, but the info is still forthcoming at some point, right?
As we wait on specifics, here are ten things the rebooted franchise needs to have to make the rebrand a success.
Spoiler: I will not bother to list ‘good gameplay.’ as that is a prerequisite for any title.
July Release Date
Traditionally, the NCAA series was released a month or so before Madden. With Madden dropping annually in August, July is a major sweet spot for the return of the EA Sports College Football series.
It takes advantage of the thirst for football and repositions the EA College Football franchise as a stand-alone draw that also functions as a companion title to Madden.
Stunning Visuals
Realistic and detailed player models and stadiums are all but a given at this stage of the game. Fans will expect and accept nothing less than visuals that are on par with Madden.
The first imagery we see from EA College Football will likely be eye-popping.
Excellent Recruiting in Dynasty Mode
The lifeblood of the dynasty mode will always be the recruiting system.
The system in NCAA Football 14 was robust, but I’d expect to see some tweaks with under-the-hood functionality that copies the tagging used in Madden’s free agency system.
The recruiting mini-game could be entertaining and appropriately current by injecting some college elements, perhaps even the presence of NIL deals.
Accurate Transfer Portal Functionality
Love it or hate it, college football’s version of free agency has to be represented in EA Sports College Football. Without it, the offseason experience vital to any franchise mode will lack the necessary authenticity.
The transfer portal system should be similar to the recruiting engine. There should be more factors like playing time in the past season, overloaded positions on the depth chart, and big-time head-coaching hirings at other schools.
Your coach could have abilities that drastically limit how often a kid elects to transfer from your school. It could be a part of the skill tree you can develop, similar to Madden’s franchise mode.
Engaging and Layered Road to Glory
I enjoyed Road to Glory as much as any single-player sports career mode. Fight Night Champion’s Champion mode is the only one I’d give a higher grade.
That said, simply bringing back RTG isn’t enough. Adding some additional layers to the formula feels like a must.
Madden moved in the right direction with Superstar mode this year by injecting a healthy amount of on-screen messaging to signal player progression. That same approach should be included in RTG as it keeps users engaged.
Distinct College Football Presentation
While we know EA Sports College Football will have tons of similarities to Madden, there needs to be elements that set the game apart from its NFL brother.
The pageantry, playbooks, and sound are a given, but it would be great to see a slight difference in player models and effectiveness better to capture the more flawed nature of college sports.
Customizable College Football Playoff System
As we have learned since its inception, the College Football Playoff isn’t a perfect system. The format will have its detractors every year, and because of that, there is bound to be a group of users who would love to craft their own postseason experience.
Hopefully, EA Sports College Football allows users to customize their playoff system, perhaps inviting as many as the top 16 teams into a tournament at season’s end to battle for the national championship.
Transferable Draft Classes
One of the best game-to-game features sports gaming has ever seen was the transferable draft class option that used to be present between NCAA Football and Madden.
Features like the transferable draft classes have become trickier these days, but this option used to lock down my sports gaming experience for the entire second half of the year as I lived in my virtual football world with NCAA and Madden.
For those who aren’t aware, EA used to allow you to transport the graduating class and early entrants from your NCAA Dynasty into the rookie class for Madden.
I can’t tell you how fun this used to be when that functionality existed.
School and Player Customization
The presence of real-life players shouldn’t be an issue in EA Sports College Football as the name, image, and likeness agreements should fill this void.
While that issue used to be the biggest reason the NCAA series needed customization, the presence of real players doesn’t eliminate the need for a solid creation suite.
EA Sports College Football still needs a decent create-a-player, school, recruiting class, and player-editing tools. Users will still want to create their own institutions and start an alternate universe journey.
Ultimate Team Features That Set it Apart From Madden
You know it’s coming. EA Sports College Football will almost certainly have a strong Ultimate Team presence.
While the models that EA uses with Madden, EA FC, and NHL obviously work, I’d love to see EA Sports College Football craft some original features under their Ultimate Team umbrella.
Some mini-games, cards, challenges, etc., specific to the college game could help revolutionize collector modes.
The reboot of the franchise is a perfect opportunity for some originality within a proven system.