College Football: 5 Best college football video games of all time

2. EA’s NCAA Football ’14

Vanessa Williams once sang “Save the best for last” and I cannot disagree that EA’s NCAA Football ’14 was an epic success. The NCAA Ultimate Team feature was groundbreaking and made learning the new controls for the triple option and inside zone read that much more fun. College football is all about tradition, pageantry, ESPN Classic versions of games, and rivalries. The “NUT” feature really brought that to the forefront as you could play as Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson or Tim Tebow and build a team of past legends.

The dynasty mode which included in-season and off-season recruiting was smooth and detailed, although not flawless. The “point system” could have been more realistic to the coach’s abilities and the school’s reputation as well as the type of recruiting coaches do (in home, unofficial and official visits). The Road to Glory mode was even more in-depth and I’ve loved playing as a triple option quarterback at the Naval Academy stealing playing time from Keenan Reynolds in the process.

The new expanded playbooks with auto-motion and shifts as well as buck sweep, the different forms of triple options and other pitch plays really made playing as Florida, Navy or Stanford feel that special. The beauty of the college football world is how diverse the playbooks are from Madden and the pro game and that was exemplified here. Unfoturtunately it was the last release of its kind, and we’re still waiting for an updated version.