5 Things To Do To Prepare For EA Sports College Football 25
It has been a long 11 years of waiting for another college football video game. I have played NCAA 14 for more hours than I could count, tried to learn how to jailbreak my Xbox so I can play revamped, and even prayed to God that another game would come out soon.
I'll always remember the heartbeat social media post during the Clemson and Alabama National Title game. I will always remember the announcement of this new game. I won't forget the doubt that this was actually happening.
But here we are.
In just a few days, we will return to glory on our road to glory. It's exciting, thrilling, and even a little nerve-racking. Some people will never fully grasp how big of a deal this is to people between the ages of 25 and 35, but this is up there with the moon landing in regard to importance. To say that this matters would be an understatement.
One of the first games I remember buying was NCAA Football 2003, with Joey Harrington on the cover. That game shaped my football knowledge more than any other game that would ever come out. I spent countless hours playing that game on a little TV cart in my living room while watching football games when I was just 9 years old. It developed my love and knowledge of the college game by giving me exposure to that game.
And here we are now. I'm 30 years old, married, and have two children. Yet, I still feel like that little 9-year-old waiting to buy the game and start a dynasty.
There are many like me, and hopefully, this game will lead to a new generation of college football degenerates.
But it isn't here yet, so how do you prepare? Here are five things to do.
1. Update your console and pre-order the game.
The harsh reality for many that are like me…. You are old, and your console is old. What you thought could play this game can't. It's time to bite the bullet and update your console. Take that old 9-year-old Xbox One or PS4, put it in a closet, and go to Target. Get yourself the Series S or Series X by Xbox. Get yourself a PS5. If this game doesn't cause you to do that, then I have painful news to break to you - your video game-playing days are over. You have officially crossed that threshold.
Hopefully, you are like me and preemptively warned your wife of the coming cost. If not, you better have something awesome planned for your lady.
Once you update your console, you need to pre-order the game. Why? In 2024, you have to download games onto your system to play them. As someone who has gone through it before, I know that there is hardly anything worse than getting excited to play a new game and having to wait 8 hours because it has to download. Pre-order it so you can pre-download it and not waste time when the game drops.
2. Buy yourself a preview magazine.
Yes, I know magazines are a thing of the past.
No, I do not care.
Every time I open up one of those college football preview magazines, I am sent back in time. It's the perfect way to get a quick feel for the team you are playing with, the team you are playing against, or if you are on the hunt for a new team. There may be a picture you like, a name you find, or a storyline you can use. It may be outdated, but that is good because when you open that magazine rather than the internet, you aren't receiving every piece of information about that program. You get to form your own opinion, but isn't that what college sports are all about? Irrational, unreasonable fandom?
Quick Power Rankings of these magazines.
Street and Smiths (R.I.P I think)
Lindys
Athlon
Phil Steele
Conference magazines.
3. Watch Old Games on YouTube.
Every year I hold out as long as I possibly can from watching college football because I want to pace myself throughout the year. Every year, I fall apart in July because the clock in my head realizes it is close.
What happens next is ugly. I stumble onto YouTube and watch games from the past. These aren't games with good teams, these aren't memorable games, and these aren't games that I have seen before. These are just absolute football sicko games. I'm talking Fresno State - Wyoming. Boston College - Pitt. Iowa - Illinois.
The uglier, the better.
Here are a few examples that I have watched so far this year.
Youtube is a fantastic place to watch football without seeing the scores before you start. It's a great way to get into your dynasty mode!
4. Decide your team(s)
This year, we are in a delicate situation. It's been 11 years. So, who is the first team that you play with? Who do you start a dynasty with? Do you go with a complete rebuild or take your favorite team to the title?
You can’t screw these decisions up!
After much deliberation, I have made my decision. I am closely tied to three schools: Notre Dame, Coastal Carolina University, and Indiana University.
I will open the game and play a home game with Notre Dame, as I want the whole pageantry.
Following that game, I will play a home game with Coastal Carolina to see the stadium right by my house.
Then I will do a dynasty as the OC from Indiana because they stink.
I hope to work myself to Coastal HC from that position.
Once I am done with dynasty, I will do a road to glory and pick Coastal as my school if they offer me.
Who do you play with first?
Who do you do a dynasty with first?
Where do you take your Road To Glory player?
Choose wisely because you will never forget it.
5. Communicate with your family.
Release days are going to be ugly days. You will be a piece of crap that day. So, in the days leading up, you are going to want to do everything possible to play as much as possible. You need to set yourself up for success!
Take your kids out and have fun with them.
Have a date night with your wife.
Clean the house to the best of your ability.
Don’t screw up your time to play by not taking care of your family first. It will make your life much easier.
We aren't 13 years old anymore. We have to be strategic. The day of the release? A blog post will follow soon. But do everything possible to serve your family the days before so you can play the day of.
I have waited a long time for another College Football video game. Will I be as good as I once was? Absolutely not. But I’m going to have a heckuva time playing some college football.