College Football 25 tips and tricks – our beginner’s guide

✓ At A Glance

• Pick the right star-level for your Road to Glory player
• Don’t skip practice
• Pick the right school for Dynasty Mode, ideally an 80 OVR range team
• Save money in Ultimate Team until better players are available

College Football 25 returns after a decade-long absence, which essentially means everyone is back to being a new player and may benefit from a few tips and tricks. Even though many players kept College Football 14 and played it throughout the years, this is a brand new game with some significant changes. Almost everyone can benefit from a little guidance on how to get better.

Choose Contributor in Road to Glory

In Road to Glory, it’s your goal to start as a player and try to become a Heisman winner, national champion, and NFL draft pick (you can even send your player into Madden 25). To do that, you can start as an underdog, a contributor, a blue chip, or an elite recruit. They range from two stars to five stars and affect your overall. Choosing the right one is important.

We recommend choosing contributor. Being an underdog means you may not see the field at all in your first season. You can always red-shirt, but there’s a strong chance you’ll come in as a backup in the case of injury or blowout, thus impacting your eligibility. Contributors can start in certain places (we had to go to Kennesaw State to start as a QB contributor) and will play enough to make the first season worthwhile.

Practice to earn XP

Another important tip is to practice. It might seem like a waste of time, but it’s not. Every week, manually play the practice. It’s how you can earn XP, get better at actually playing the game, and earn coach trust. The latter is vital to your playthrough.

Choose a three-star program in Dynasty mode for a balanced challenge

In Dynasty Mode, it’s your job to turn your chosen school into a dynasty. Your options are to pick a burgeoning dynasty (Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, etc.) or some other team that presents a challenge. The lower the level of the program, the harder it is. That’s why the selection of a school is the most important part.

We recommend choosing a three-star program or some team in the 80 OVR range. Many College Football 25 players have found that it’s a lot harder to turn Akron into a national power in this game than in NCAA 14. That’s the ultimate challenge, but it might be too hard to actually pull off, leaving you frustrated. This is why it’s better to find a middle ground: pick a team (UNC, Michigan State, Colorado) that isn’t a national power and turn it into one.

Wait for better players to hit Ultimate Team

Ultimate Team is similar to the identically titled modes EA Sports has produced in its other sports games over the last decade. Just like in FC and Madden, the name of the game is to collect the best cards and make a great lineup. The key to doing so might be being patient.

Like in any version of Ultimate Team, the cards are staggered. The best of the best aren’t in the game yet. EA often releases those at a later date, gradually upping the OVR level of the best cards. It may be worthwhile to do challenges and play games, but wait to spend the currency earned until the greatest cards are available.