EA College Football 26 might break all of the records set by its predecessor last year.
As fun as College Football 25 was, some of the gameplay towards the end felt a little lacking, especially with Road to Glory. Well, if the trailer shows us anything, it’s this: College Football 26 heard all the fan requests and answered some prayers.
The first thing you notice when watching the trailer is simple: they got “Enter Sandman” by Metallica into the game. The backdrop for the best college football tradition in the sport is now in the game, and it makes me want to choose Virginia Tech as my dynasty every single time.
When it comes to the actual gameplay, it does feel like they listened a bit to what people were asking for. After last year’s game had some unevenness when it comes to mechanics and gameplay, it feels like this year’s version is going to be more expansive, starting with Road to Glory. I was always a big RTG fan in the old NCAA games, and it was because you could start in high school and go about the recruitment process before committing. That wasn’t in CFB 25, but it’s making a return in 2026, with the ability to decommit during high school as well.
In Dynasty, I felt like everything could’ve been turned up a notch from 25, and based on the EA newsletter, it feels like we’re headed that way. I was frustrated with the lack of formation subs, but they’re adding those into the game this year to help smoothen out the process of building my dynasty at Virginia Tech. Online cross-play is now in Online Dynasty, which should be fun, and now that they brought back the Trophy Room, you get to show off all the trophies you win across rivalry games and while I bring Virginia Tech or South Alabama to prominence in the college football world.
There are also expanded playbooks that include all of Penn State’s trick plays and the fun stuff you see on Saturdays, but within that gameplay you can also manage Wear and Tear a little better this year. Dynamic Substitutions are now in the game, which allow you to protect stars and keep them from accumulating wear and tear until the most important moments in the game.
Another big change is the addition of real-life college football coaches. In the trailer you can see Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Penn State’s James Franklin, but there are over 300 real coaches in this game.
Finally, WE GOT THE TURNOVER TIRE!
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I can’t wait until July 11.