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With EA Sports set to release College Football 25 on July 19—or on July 15 for those who bought the early release—let’s journey through time and rank the top 10 best EA Sports College Football games leading up to the game's end in 2014.
Each game is graded on a scale of how well the game is played and the No. 1 feature in the game, Dynasty Mode.
No. 10: NCAA Football 2000
There is no better way to kick off this list than to feature the game with the best intro. Tradition has always been key for college football fans and that’s what this intro has. Instead of some random thrown-together clips of the gameplay, EA decided to bring you in with a song that builds while showing some B-roll footage of the Heisman Trophy and clips dating back through decades. The gameplay doesn’t change much from previous years but features celebrations. Never before had there been post-play celebrations that you would see on Saturdays and offered more uniqueness to the players.
No. 9: NCAA Football 2004
The pregame menu was much better in NCAA Football 2004 than in previous games. What puts this game on the list is the pregame show. When you play a sports game there is typically a build that gets you into that game-like atmosphere. It's one of the best parts of any type of sports game has to be the pregame setup that leads you in and builds the hype to get you excited to play the game. As far as gameplay it didn’t see a major difference from 2003.
No. 8: NCAA Football 2003
NCAA Football 2003 had a different type of feel to it. No longer were you selecting two teams and then it was time to play right away. In this particular game, there would be intros that give the star player of one of the teams an identity. The gameplay was smooth and while NCAA Football 2002 was the start of the more realistic running motion in the game, 2003 felt faster and more realistic. The new features in Dynasty Mode started looking more realistic than what we saw until the franchise went dark.
No. 7: NCAA Football 14
The final installment of the EA Sports NCAA Football franchise. It included a new recruiting tool that did not allow you to have a more one-on-one feel with each recruit which took away the realistic feel. However, it did allow you to spread out your recourses with a limited amount of points, which is a realistic way of recruiting.
The game also featured in-game studio updates, allowing you to see what was happening nationwide. From a gameplay perspective, the game overall played well if you went into a no-huddle offense your quarterback would look over to the sidelines to get the signals. This game is in the top 10 simply because it has been a fan favorite since the series went dark in 2014. NCAA Football 14 has been there for fans every year since, and will always be held near and dear for sports gamers.
No. 6: NCAA Football 2007
The theme of this countdown is the realistic feel of each game. That’s what you’re playing the game for, and with NCAA Football 2007 the momentum meter comes into play. The gameplay itself wasn’t much different, however, the media additions into the game are, with the new radio-style updates which are provided throughout the game and were further perfected later on in the series.
No. 5: NCAA Football 09
A new feature in the NCAA Football 09 gameplay was the “quarterback quiz” which after a mistake made by the user’s quarterback the user would be quizzed by Lee Corso. This was a neat twist on the franchise because it made Corso similar to John Madden in the “Madden franchise." This was the Madden 09’s version of “Backtrack” where Cris Collinsworth would run you through the previous play and the mistake made.
No. 4: NCAA Football 11
NCAA Football 11 had the best version of gameplay. The attention to detail in NCAA Football 11 was fantastic, and the ESPN score bug was more realistic than what you’d see on Saturdays. The overall gameplay and movement of the players was similar to that year’s release of Madden (11), which featured some similarities to realistic gameplay but didn’t build off of NCAA Football 10 that some had hoped. This game also featured the best Dynasty Mode recruiting.
No. 3: NCAA Football 2013
This edition of the EA Sports NCAA Football video games had a different feel for the actual gameplay during Dynasty Mode. The effect wasn’t in the overall feel of the players but when looking down you noticed the realistic ESPN ticker. The overall gameplay felt a little "arcadic" but the overall likeness of the players was the most realistic in the game's history. It was so good that perhaps EA Sports should have translated it into that year’s edition of Madden 13.
No. 2: NCAA Football 2005
NCAA Football 2005 was ahead of its time. The height of the NCAA Football franchise had to be with this game. EA did a terrific job with the receivers running routes and turning their heads for the ball. The feel of the receivers running routes made the game stand out from its previous years.
While this was just a beta version of the new “Home Field Advantage” feature in the game it gave gamers that realistic Saturday gameday feel. What sticks out in this game is the return of the realistic pregame booth that has Reece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso. Sticking with the theme of the broadcast, Corso’s headgear picks that are seen during ESPN’s “College GameDay” made their way into the game. Sports Illustrated articles also showed up on the menu screen during Dynasty Mode.
No. 1: NCAA Football 08
The complete package of all the NCAA Football video games. This was the best version of gameplay, it featured a more realistic speed of the players and quarterback throwing motion. The stadium pulse feature that would shake the screen was also a nice touch within the game and something new in the game was the hot routes feature and the ability to audible out of plays.
Another realistic feel to the game was the “motivation system” that came into play in NCAA Football 08 which allowed gamers the challenge of keeping a player's “head in the game." The recruiting system also took a step further in NCAA Football 08, for the first time you could make promises to players and invite them on campus visits, another realistic feel to the game that tested the ability to keep a championship team intact.
For all these reasons NCAA Football 08 lasted the test of time and made the NCAA Football franchise a fun and exciting game.
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