Latest news with #CollegeFootball26
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- USA Today
Where Colorado ranks as the best campus in the Big 12 according to College Football 26
College Football 26 came out last week, and hopefully, everyone is diving into another installment of the most popular sports video game in the past two years. Whether you're a dynasty mode diehard or excited to take an unheralded recruit to glory in the game, it has everything. We have already examined Colorado's top-ranked players, as well as how the team's overall ratings compare in various modes. Now let's go a little deeper. If you take over Colorado in a dynasty save, you will need to recruit to contend, and that starts with knowing what the Buffs do well and what could be improved. One grade that recruits will assuredly care about is campus lifestyle. Student athletes sometimes spend five years living in a place, so they want it to feel like home. Everyone loves Boulder, Colorado, and the campus, right? Here is how EA Sports grades Colorado's campus lifestyle in College Football 26 Colorado's College Football 26 campus lifestyle grade EA Sports gives Colorado an "A-" grade for its campus lifestyle. A solid grade that hopefully factored in the tremendous views of the Flatiron mountains and the many places for students to hang out along Pearl Street. Where does Colorado's campus lifestyle grade rank within the Big 12 If you're trying to win in recruiting, you have to beat out your rivals for top talent. It helps to have a better campus lifestyle grade than other Big 12 schools if you want to lure certain recruits to your school. So, where does Colorado's "A-" grade rank among the other Big 12 schools? Colorado, with its "A-" grade, performs exceptionally well compared to the rest of the Big 12, ranking second in the entire conference. Arizona State owns the best campus lifestyle grade, and its "A+" mark is tied for first with six other schools. The Tempe versus Boulder debate can rage on, but both schools offer multiple ways to spend time in between game weekends. Follow Charlie Strella on X, Threads and Instagram. Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Patriots show off what-if covers for EA Sports' College Football 26
Time for some @EASPORTSCollege football 🔥 The New England Patriots' social media team had a little fun with the release of EA Sports' College Football 26 last week. Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams and Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith made the front cover of the game this year. However, the Patriots' social media team created four what-if covers featuring Tom Brady, Christian Gonzalez, Drake Maye and Will Campbell. Brady, who is the greatest quarterback of all time, makes sense as a cover athlete who has retired from the game of football. Meanwhile, Gonzalez, Maye and Campbell would have all been solid options as cover art players at some point. Rob Gronkowski delivering his iconic spiked football would have been a nice touch as well. Maye, Campbell and Gonzalez hope to follow in Brady's footsteps as cornerstone players for the Patriots. The team hasn't won more than four games in the last two seasons, and they'll be looking to get back to playoff contention with the arrival of newly-hired head coach Mike Vrabel. Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Georgia DL Elijah Griffin named among top rated freshmen in College Football 26
College Football 26 released on July 10, and Georgia has one of the highest rated freshmen in the game. Former five-star defensive lineman Elijah Griffin has an 82 overall rating, tying him for the fourth-highest rated freshman in the game. Griffin was a five-star defensive lineman who went to Savannah Christian Prep in Savannah, Georgia. The 6-foot-4, 310-pound defensive lineman was named the Georgia Class AAA Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2023 and was named to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Super 11 Team in 2024. He was the No. 1 defensive lineman and No. 3 overall recruit in the class of 2025. He is the fourth-highest recruit in Georgia's history, only behind Nolan Smith, Ellis Robinson IV, and Justin Fields. He has also earned comparisons to NFL All-Pro Jalen Carter. Griffin is tied with Clemson defensive lineman Amare Adams at an 82 and behind 83 overall running backs Harlem Barry (LSU) and Gideon Davidson (Clemson), and 84-overall Oregon wide receiver Dakorien Moore. Overall, Georgia has an 88 team rating, which is sixth-highest in the nation. The Bulldogs the nation's fourth-best defense (92 rating) and the 13th-best offense (82 rating). Highest Rated Rising Freshmen in CFB 26:
Forbes
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
EA College Football 26 Review: The Good, The Bad And The Bottom Line
EA College Football 26 EA College Football 26 dropped this past week on early access and full retail. I've been putting the game through the paces as much as time would allow for the past three days, and I'm mostly pleased with what I see, feel, and hear. There are 10 key points about the new title. Here's what EA has presented, along with my thoughts on each new or improved feature and a few takes. Here's the good, the bad, and the bottom line on EA College Football Football 25 captured the vibe of its sport better than any sports game ever created, and this year's game tops that. CF 26 brings deeper immersion with 34 new mascots, 88 band songs, unique runouts, and stadium traditions like the Sooner Schooner and Cockaboose. The pageantry and detail are augmented by the overall beauty of the game. I'm not overselling here—College Football 26 is the most visually attractive sports video game ever made. Player models, grass, crowd, the dynamic lighting (it's a real thing), you name it. All of it is real coaches takes this team/school authenticity thing to another level. I think EA did a solid job with most of the coach likenesses, though there are a few that still need to be updated over the course of the season. As for the signature playcalling styles, I need to see a few more games vs. the CPU to give a definitive statement, but so far, I've had Michigan try to cram the ball down my Illinois Fighting Illini's throat with the run game and seen a bit of an aerial assault from the Texas Tech Red Raiders, so that checks out. I love the new depth with recruiting pipelines and unlockable abilities that affect Dynasty outcomes. Having the recruiting interactions happen with real coaches deepens the playbooks are bottomless. There are 2,800+ plays and 45 new formations. Each team's handcrafted playbooks lean into the concept of real-life tendencies. I've only used three teams so far, but I can see the difference in playbooks. While I see the larger playbooks, I'll say this is one of the features that was a bit oversold. Maybe it'll be a quality-of-life feature, but over the course of the review period, it was more of a slight nod than a true head bop.I felt like I could see some differences in the way older quarterbacks played compared to freshmen and other underclassmen. I cannot vouch for shorter QBs struggling with sightlines, but that's likely going to take some time to compare and was trying to do away with the INTs that come from defenders who seemingly have their eyes away from the ball, only to snap into awareness in time to snag a pass out of the sky. In this year's game, defenders won't make INTs unless they're looking at the ball. The idea was to reduce cheap turnovers and to increase fairness. What I've seen through my time with the game is defenders behaving blindly and dropping a ton of balls that should have been picks. This is a fixable issue that doesn't ruin the experience, but I'm not sure this is working as Wear and Tear concept was one of my favorite additions to sports video games in 2024. I love to see EA building on it and also seeing the concept making its way to Madden this year. This year, the damage is supposed to be based on physics. I am enjoying this, and I can see as my Dynasty moves along it will become a bigger factor in my there was a primary criticism of College Football 25, it was that it was nearly impossible to defend in the wide-open game. It made for some exciting plays and contests, but EA is right to try and level the playing field. This year, route commits, zone depth changes, block steering, and stunts/twists now give defenders real-time tools to counter spam tactics. Also, ballhandlers aren't as impossible to line up for a tackle or hit. However, the stiff arm for some running backs has the power of Mjölnir. That's already been a topic of discussion in the game's community. This YouTube Short highlights it. I think it'll get nerfed in an upcoming patch. Once that happens, we may have a bit more features include formation subs, 160 trophies to chase, protected rivalries, and the ability to break NCAA records dating back to 1869. CFB 26 also introduces 'Dynamic Dealbreakers' that evolve player needs, 2,000 annual transfers, and revamped recruiting with proximity-based visit costs. The recruiting should be the benchmark for all forthcoming recruiting and free-agency engines in sports video games. To put it plain, Dynasty Mode is mostly fantastic as EA even expanded the already strong Team Builder feature to improve team creation. That said, you still can't create or edit players on existing schools. I understand the caution and limitation, but it doesn't change the fact that this reality creates a lesser experience for true sandbox players.I applaud EA's approach to gamify the high school portion without having users play through full prep games. It's more mission-based, and the quick feedback you get from schools makes it move at a solid pace. You can even recreate your high school while you traverse through the journey of being signed on National Signing Day. I enjoyed RTG a lot, including the varying has done decently well with CUT, but there are two major issues. I like sports collector modes that don't break their sport in the name of increasing power. When that happens, it creates a no-rules, all-out dash for power cards that ultimately gets ridiculous about six months after release. I'm not a microtransaction hater. Like it or not, it's how developer studios stay afloat, devs keep their jobs, and it funds new projects. Gamers benefit from them, even though they don't realize it. So this isn't a slap at the spending aspect of CUT. It's more about the mode needing a safe space that is more governed by rules that keeps things from always being about pure power. The second issue is EA's insistence on keeping legends locked exclusively in Ultimate Team. I cannot tell you how irrational that is from a holistic standpoint. Perhaps higher-ups believe that allowing fans to unlock—or even purchase—the legends will cost them money. I contend it will open up a new revenue stream that they're not currently collecting. Some franchise mode fans would love to simply buy a legends pack that unlocks them for use in the base game. They would happily fork over $19.99 for the legends. If we're talking about a hardcore franchise mode gamer, chances are they aren't setting foot in Ultimate Team anyway. So as it is, you're not getting anything from them beyond the base price for the Standard Edition. If the MVP and Digital Deluxe Editions also included legends unlocked for base game and franchise mode, I believe EA would see an increase in pre-orders above their already strong total—and it wouldn't negatively impact spend in Ultimate Team. But I digress. It's a philosophical pattern that EA Sports games follow, and I believe it's an annual misstep that also creates unnecessary hostility toward Ultimate Team. The RTCF flow is quick and exciting. Opponent tendencies are now visible before the game, and away games apply pressure that affects performance and point totals. It all flows into the pageantry and presentation, but the impact on gameplay is a nice addition. EA College Football 26 won't be judged as softly as last year's game because fans aren't simply fired up to have college football back. That said, EA's dev team hasn't rested on its success, and they've delivered a strong follow-up with noteworthy improvements. The issues are mostly out of the dev's hands and based on the handling of legends or legalities that limit in-game customization.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Predicting the 2025 Colorado football season with EA Sports' College Football 26
What record does College Football 26 give the Colorado Buffaloes? Nobody quite knows what the 2025 season has in store for the Colorado Buffaloes. Can they continue to build off the success established last season, or will the losses of stars to the NFL be too significant for them to overcome? However, with the release of College Football 26 from EA Sports, although we may not get a perfect picture, we can certainly try to gauge an idea of how the game expects this season to unfold. So as a part of our 2025 season preview at Buffaloes Wire, that's exactly what we did. So let's jump into the virtual world of college football and see what EA Sports' simulation engine has in store for the Colorado Buffaloes, led by virtual coach Kirk Patrick. Week 1: vs Georgia Tech, 27-20 OT win If one thing was clear through this simulation, EA Sports thinks Colorado fans will need two things for the 2025 season: ponchos and heart medication. Trailing 13-3 at halftime, the Buffaloes rallied from behind, ultimately tying the game on a strike from Kaidon Salter to Utah State transfer wideout Jack Hestera with 1:04 left in the game. The Yellow Jackets won the toss for overtime, electing to play defense first, but were no match for a Salter and Micah Welch-led ground attack. After Welch found paydirt, the Buffaloes' defense did their job on the ensuing possession to lift Colorado to 1-0 on the season. Week 2: vs Delaware, 27-21 win It was another slow start for the Buffaloes at Folsom Field, where the Blue Hens looked to pull off a stunner, leading 14-7 at halftime. However, the second half was all Salter, throwing and running for a touchdown while Welch struggled on the ground. A pair of field goals from Alejandro Mata and an interception by Carter Stoutmire sealed this one in the Buffaloes' favor, moving the team to 2-0. Week 3: at Houston, 28-21 loss Another rainy contest, Colorado was dominating this early Big 12 matchup at the half, 14-7. Welch had an impressive game, running for 73 yards and a score on just six carries. However, as the clock wound down, Zeon Chriss and the Cougars found their way forward, running through the heart of the Colorado defense. Though the teams traded interceptions late in the contest, Houston took possession of the ball and a 28-21 lead into the two-minute timeout. The Buffaloes got stops on first, second, and third down, but on fourth, a 43-yard scoop from Chriss iced the Buffaloes' 3-0 dreams. Week 4: vs Wyoming, 31-24 win The Buffaloes must have been licking their wounds to begin this one, letting the Cowboys hang around for most of the game. Salter was excellent, bouncing back from his poor performance in Houston to complete 75% of his passes to the tune of 237 yards and a score. Colorado's defense finally stepped up and forced two fumbles, both recorded by cornerback Preston Hodge, which were key in helping the team move to 3-1 on the season. Week 5: vs No. 11 BYU, 13-10 win The first of the Buffaloes' matchups with a top-25 ranked opponent comes early, with an undefeated Cougars team entering Folsom Field. This game was a defensive chess match, with the Buffaloes' X-factor ultimately being Salter, who scored the only Buffaloes touchdown of the day on a pass to Omarion Miller. Despite Welch only running for an abysmal 18 yards on 16 carries, Stoutmire made a game-sealing interception late for the Buffaloes' first win in the Big 12 Conference, and moving them to 4-1 on the year. Week 6: at TCU, 23-20 win Much like their 2023 contest, this was a back-and-forth battle right down to the end. Down 20-16 late in the fourth quarter, Salter marched his team down the field to get into the red zone just before the two-minute timeout. From there, the Horned Frogs' defense clamped up, forcing the Buffaloes into a desperate fourth-and-7. Like he's done all season in the simulation, Salter remained calm and found sophomore wide receiver Joseph Williams in the end zone for a 17-yard game-winning touchdown with 1:45 left to play. Just like that, Colorado was rolling to a 5-1 start on the year. Week 7: vs No. 16 Iowa State, 40-34 loss I said Colorado fans would need heart medication for this season, and this was a game they should keep those meds close by. This doozy of a contest saw Colorado have plenty of opportunities to beat Iowa State, including getting the ball down six under two minutes to go. However, the cardiac Buffaloes didn't have it in them this week. Colorado trailed for a majority of the game, which meant that Salter had to throw the ball 41 times, and it wasn't his best outing. Two interceptions, including one in the red zone, killed the momentum of the Buffaloes' offense and allowed Iowa State to escape. The lone bright spot in this one was the emergence of the so far silent Miller, who caught six passes for 144 yards and two scores. Week 9: at Utah, 30-7 loss Fresh off a bye week, Colorado should have walked into Rice-Eccles Stadium looking for vengeance after letting the opportunity with the Cyclones escape their grasp. Instead, they walked in half-asleep and let the Utes have their way with them. Colorado fell behind early and stayed there, leaning on Salter to throw it 35 times, which, as we've seen, isn't a recipe for winning. Salter got his one interception out of the way early, but it was catastrophic for the team's momentum. Throw in an untimely Miller fumble, and this is one that Buffaloes fans would rather forget. Week 10: vs Arizona, 28-14 win If last week was when everything went wrong for Colorado, this week, it all clicked. An early interception by Wyoming transfer Tyrecus Davis gave the Buffaloes' offense the ball early, and they did not disappoint. Welch finally had a great game, running for 85 yards and a score on 24 carries. Salter was back to his pre-Iowa State form, dealing for 199 yards, two scores and another touchdown on the ground. Stoutmarie caught his third interception of the year to seal a dominant win for Colorado over Arizona, finally putting them back on the right track. Week 11: at No. 25 West Virginia, 20-14 loss In a barnburner in Morgantown, this was by far Salter's worst game of the season. Two disastrous interceptions late in the game, which I'm sure had the virtual fans clamoring to see true-freshman Julian Lewis. Welch went down with an injury, which saw Dallan Hayden step into the starting role for the next two games, and he was equally as ineffective. Miller posted another massive receiving effort, with his nine catches for 151 yards and a touchdown, single-handedly keeping Colorado in this contest. The defense held up their end of the bargain, but the offensive woes continued for the Buffaloes as they fell to 6-4. Week 13: vs Arizona State, 30-27 win The Colorado Buffaloes trailed 20-3 going into the locker room at halftime, struggling to produce much offense as the Sun Devils threw all over their defense. The second half continued to be a separate story as Miller put the team on his back, hauling in seven catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. While the running game continued to struggle, Salter put together another solid performance, throwing for over 230 yards and two touchdowns. Davis caught his second interception of the year late to stifle the Sun Devils' comeback efforts and move the Buffaloes to 7-4 on the year. Week 14: at No. 24 Kansas State, 26-24 loss Colorado has been known for their comebacks this season, and it looked like they were on their way to another miraculous victory. Colorado took the lead with under a minute and a half left to play, with Hayden bruising his way into the endzone to give them a 1-point lead late. While the Buffaloes' defense was fantastic in this one, with Davis, Hodge and D.J. McKinney all snagging interceptions, they folded late. A march from Avery Johnson moved the Wildcats down to the goalline, where they kicked the game-winning field goal with just 27 seconds left on the clock. Colorado's chances of a ranked finish to the season appeared to go by the wayside. Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl: vs Florida State, 25-22 loss Maybe it's prophetic that Coach Patrick's season was ended by the real Coach Prime's alma mater. Both teams traded scores in this one, and much like their game against Kansas State, Colorado held the lead late. The Salter to Miller connection was as sweet as candy, connecting seven times for 104 yards and a score. However, even another interception from McKinney wasn't enough to hold back Thomas Castellanos and the Seminoles. Castellanos marched his team down the field using all three timeouts to score the would-be game-winning touchdown with just a hair under a minute to play. End of season record: 7-6 overall, 4-5 Big 12 Well, that's certainly one outcome for the Colorado Buffaloes' season. It is also one I don't think many fans would be satisfied with. I'll make the disclaimer that I didn't make any changes to the depth chart; instead, I allowed things to play out as if the Week 1 depth chart were permanent. It also appears that the running stats are slightly off in the simulation engine, as no matter which running back played for the Buffs, they would not average more than 3 yards per carry. Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith ended up winning the Heisman Trophy, and if you're wondering, Texas Tech beat Penn State 24-18 in the national championship. College Football 26 provided quite an interesting take on the 2025 season, and if it's any solace for Buffs fans, Nebraska finished 4-8, so this simulation wasn't a total loss. Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.
