I’ve been a fan of EA Sports College Football since childhood, spending countless hours playing on old gaming systems and even battling against my friends. When the series went away in 2013, I stopped gaming altogether until last year, when I couldn’t resist buying a PS5 and EA Sports College Football 2025. Now the 2026 edition is here, and after putting in plenty of hours, here’s my full review of the latest game.
EA Sports College Football includes coaches this year.
— Jordan Hamm (@JordyHamm) July 16, 2025
Arizona & ASU players shared which mannerisms of their coaches should be included to give a realistic experience.
Answers included:
- First pumps
- Ref "conversations"
- facial contorsion
- GOLLYhttps://t.co/qLBTcn6sfk pic.twitter.com/xtV6aT9feA
New Playbooks
As someone who coached football for 15 years, I enjoy different playbooks to call plays with. Last year’s version, I thought, had good playbooks, but this year's version is even better. Playbooks have lots of uses for motion for different skill positions. Plus, there is a greater variety of plays. For instance, I love different passing concepts, and now you can run those different passing concepts with motion, formations, and with different personnel. Plus, you see a major difference between different colleges' playbooks.
Our @EASPORTSCollege Playbook Database has been updated for #CollegeFootball26!
— CFB.FAN (@CFBdotFAN) July 3, 2025
Everything is updated with what you'll see in-game on launch day:https://t.co/k2JdnY3WWi
👆 pic.twitter.com/XNUCCNC70w
Graphics are better then ever
The graphics are incredible. Just the realism of the players is unreal. As an Ohio State fan, I have started a dynasty with Ohio State and Ohio State’s band performing like it looks on TV. I played a game with Texas, and Bevo, the Texas mascot, is in the game. The subtle details of college football are in this game.
300 Coaches in the game
Over 300 coaches have signed up to be in the game. The pictures are not always accurate, but still, it is cool to see different coaches you can play against and coach with. An example was that I beat Clemson, and I was happy to see Dabo Swinney upset after the game.
The Road to Glory is back
This is a popular feature where gamers can create a high school football player and have them earn a scholarship. You must create a character and have them earn a scholarship by going through a series of games. You don’t play an entire game but play key moments. This is a fun feature to see if you can earn a scholarship and become a legend at the College Level.
Dynasty mode is updated
Dynasty mode is like last year, but you can also just be the offensive and defensive coordinator, along with being the head coach. You can still change conferences and make individual schedules, which is relatable to real life in an era defined by Conference realignment. Recruiting is similar as well, but it is easier to lose players in the transfer portal if you don't meet their expectations.
Ultimate team is a new feature
You can once again play a series of challenges to create an ultimate team of current and former players. Then the more success you have, the higher you move through the challenges. It is a fun new feature of the game.
Final Thoughts
The new EA Sports 2026 College Football game is great. If you are a college football fan and you love to play college football games, this is the game for you, even if your wife may resent you buying it.