I, like many of you, grew up playing NCAA football video games. After a long 11 year drought, we will finally have another college football release this summer. I have fond memories of taking Eastern Michigan to a MAC title before becoming a head coach for our Red Raiders. All of those hours spent recruiting before even playing the first game of the season… I miss it all. The wait is almost over; here are a few features I would like to see from the new EA Sports college football game.
1. Create an NIL Agent
This mode would be absolutely electric, hear me out. You create your own sleazy businessman and recruit high school football players to attend universities that you are unofficially tied to. Everything is done under the table. You are a glorified bag man who can make whatever promises to whomever, and you try to grow your talent pool as large as possible. Add a few Grand Theft Auto elements in order to have your character obtain money, prospects, and street credibility. You can work your way up to becoming a big-time oil tycoon booster for the school that calls all of the shots. This is a rags to riches story with multiple outcomes. First, you can fail, and everyone hates your agency, like level 13 and Chris Walsh. Second, the feds get you, and then you have to work your way up the prison ranks. Third, you are a wealthy business man that calls the shots at your alma mater. This would be the mode I’m looking forward to most.
2. Realistic College GameDay Atmospheres
This one I’m really excited about. The developers have gone out and put a lot of time into creating realistic game day atmospheres for all of the schools. From what I hear, they have done an amazing job. For example, you can go to a Houston Cougars home game and still hear no home fans. In Fort Worth, you can hear the loud “Raider Power” Chants from opposing fans. In Waco, they are covering more seats with tarp and downsizing their stadium even further in order to hide their lack of attendance. In Ames, you can hear the team placing bets in the locker room prior to kick off. In West Virginia, you can burn a couch after the game in your finest pair of dirt covered overalls. In Kansas, you can hear the fans trying to read up on the rules of football now that they attend a few games. In Utah, you can hear their fans pounding in their keyboards trying to convince the world they are a football power and not triggered. In Colorado, you can hear Deion compliment himself in front of a bathroom mirror. In Stillwater, you can hear their fans learning Texas Tech’s traditions so they can then try to make it their own. In Manhattan, you can hear consistency… I don’t know what it sounds like, but you definitely hear it. Yes, this bit ran long, but that’s a great eye for detail by the developers if you ask me. All of these elements will make this game feel so real. I’m excited to see the great Red Raider game day atmosphere displayed in the new game.
3. Conference Comissioner Mode
This option needs to be like the show Succession. Everything is a cutthroat, power move. You build fake relationships with the NCAA and other conference commissioners in order to most benefit your own schools or just yourself. You can create fake alliances in order to throw people off of your scent. This mode is all about backstabbing, lying, power plays, and making large TV deals. Your goal in this mode is to destroy the NCAA and essentially become your own professional league. You want to make so much money that you don’t care about all of the fun traditions in college football that you destroyed. You don’t care if things are worse because your pockets are fuller.
4 Road to Glory: Transfer edition
It’s the same Road to Glory that you are used to except you transfer after every season. You deal with an NIL agent who is illegally working with a school to recruit you, and you receive bags of money regularly. You are a distraction in the locker room because you constantly focus on your next school. All of this occurs while you have schools in bidding wars for your commitment during your season. This isn’t about developing and winning heisman trophies, this is about making the most money you possibly can.
There you go, those are the features I hope to see in the new college football video game. Again, this is Grand Theft Auto meet college football. If you ask me, that sounds like the next big video game. Palworld has officially been put on notice. If EA Sport listens to the advice I just gave, they can be kings of the gaming industry. We will find out this summer.
