EA Sports College Football 25: Everything you need to know

EA Sports College Football 25 details are slowly but surely racking up, and it's looking to be a big year for the mega-publisher's comeback kid. This is EA's first collegiate alternative to Madden NFL 24 since NCAA Football 14, and will feature Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, and Donovan Edwards on the cover. We now know the College Football 25 release date, have received two trailers, and are looking forward to some old-fashioned recruiting in Dynasty mode. What else is new? Find out in your College Football 25 guide.

College Football 25 trailer

The first College Football 25 trailer offered a glimpse at all the intricacies on offer in the series' return, such as lifelike mascots, jerseys, locker rooms, and stadiums. It also confirmed the first four teams: Michigan, Georgia, Florida and Alabama. Hit the image above to give it a watch.

College Football 25 reveal trailer

May 2024 brought a closer look by way of the College Football 25 reveal trailer, with plenty of in-game action and atmospheric close-ups. Hit that button above to give it a watch.

College Football 25 release date confirmation

The College Football 25 release date is July 19, 2024. However, as with most EA releases one of the pre-order incentives is getting to play it three days early. That means those who do purchase ahead of release can dive on on July 16, 2024. And on the subject of pre-ordering…

College Football 25 pre-order bonuses

There are three different editions of College Football 25, each with specific pre-order bonuses. Here's what you get included with each one. Note that the MVP Bundle also includes Madden NFL 25, which is officially unveiled on Tuesday, June 11.

College Football 25 Standard Edition

• Alma Mater Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 134)

• Cover Athlete Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 3)

• Bring Glory Home Ultimate Team Uniform Item

College Football 25 Deluxe Edition

• Heisman Hopeful Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 5) [if ordered by June 27]

• 3 Day Early Access (July 16-18)

• 4600 College Football Points

• Alma Mater Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 134)

• Cover Athlete Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 3)

• Bring Glory Home Ultimate Team Uniform Item

Madden NFL 25 & College Football 25 MVP Bundle

• Madden NFL 25 Deluxe Edition

• 3 Day Early Access

• 4600 Madden Points

• Early Access Ultimate Teamm Challenges

• AKA Player Item

• Cover Athlete Elite Player Item

• Elite Player Item

• Choice of 2 Strategy Items

• Superstar Drip Gear

• Legendary XP Boost

• College Football 25 Deluxe Edition

• 3 Day Early Access

• 4600 College Football Points

• Alma Mater Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 134)

• Cover Athlete Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 3)

• Heisman Hopeful Ultimate Team Pack (Choice of 1 player item out of 5)

• Bring Glory Home Ultimate Team Uniform Item

NCAA Football 25 vs College Football 25

Is College Football 25 just NCAA Football 25 under a different name? Kind of, although there's a key legal difference. The National Collegiate Athletic Association were accused of failing to compensate its players for appearing in EA's games, which led to a lawsuit from some of the players in question – and the end of that series with NCAA Football 14. As a result, this is indeed considered the 21st game in EA's non-NFL football series – but it no longer bears the NCAA name.

College Football 25 Ultimate Team

As those pre-orders confirm, this will be the first EA college game to include Ultimate Team. Other modes include Road To Glory and Road to the College Football Playoff, but those early incentives make clear that 'CUT' will be the focus. Particularly with the game's trio of cover stars, Quinn Ewers, Travis Hunter, and Donovan Edwards, being utilised to try to draw fans into snapping up those bonuses. It won't be to everyone's liking – but there's plenty else to look forward too…

College Football 25 real players

Given the lawsuit mentioned above, EA has been super careful when securing College Football 25 real players. Those who agree to be in the game will receive a $600 flat payment and a copy of the game, in reward for their likeness being used. The good news is that this strategy has worked, and more than 10,000 college athletes have signed up to appear.

However, there will be absentees. For instance, Texas quarterback Arch Manning – nephew of NFL greats Peyton and Eli Manning – has reportedly opted out of College Football 25. Those who decline the use of their identity will be replaced with a generic character, and sadly there's no way to manually edit their name or likeness. Still, 10,000 real players is a colossal start. EA's goal is to have 85-man rosters for every school in the game, which would mean it's signed up 87% of real athletes.

College Football 25 teams list

All 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams are confirmed for College Football 25. That means newer additions to the association, such as the James Madison Dukes and Jacksonville State Gamecocks, will be playable for the first time ever in an EA game. Below are 25 of the teams we expect to score highly on the College Football 25 ratings list when it emerges in the autumn, sorted according to their rank at the end of the 2023 season.

• 1 Michigan Wolverines

• 2 Washington Huskies

• 3 Texas Longhorns

• 4 Georgia Bulldogs

• 5 Alabama Crimson Tide

• 6 Oregon Ducks

• 7 Florida State Seminoles

• 8 Missouri Tigers

• 9 Ole Miss Rebels

• 10 Ohio State Buckeyes

• 11 Arizona Wildcats

• 12 LSU Tigers

• 13 Penn State Nittany Lions

• 14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

• 15 Oklahoma Sooners

• 16 Oklahoma State Cowboys

• 17 Tennessee Volunteers

• 18 Kansas State Wildcats

• 19 Louisville Cardinals

• 20 Clemson Tigers

• 21 NC State Wolfpack

• 22 SMU Mustangs

• 23 Kansas Jayhawks

• 24 Iowa Hawkeyes

• 25 Liberty Flames

College Football 25 vs Madden NFL 25

Will College Football 25 just be a reskinned version of Madden NFL 24? Nope! While the game is based on the same engine, it's exclusive to PS5 and XBox Series X, and places a huge focus on a feature called CampusIQ. This sees player ratings change in-game, a dynamic wear and tear system, and various clever ways of implementing home-team advantage. You can read much more about it in our College Football 25 preview.

The return of Dynasty mode is also a huge boost – it's why many proclaimed NCAA stronger than its pro counterpart. One of the key differences was recruiting. Instead of wheeling and dealing, players had to be scouted and approached while in high school, playing the strengths and weaknesses of your college off against those of others after their signature. It was so moreish that you could often spend more time trying to attract future players than out on the digital turf – and will likely be a key area of focus in EA trying to bring back fans from NCAA's heyday on PS3 and Xbox 360.

College Football 25 NCFAA awards

One key difference from the classic series is that you won't be able to win NCFAA awards, such as the Ray Guy. These are the trophies dished out at the end of each season to the best players in collegiate football. "The offer that has been made is not adequate for the rights fee for the awards," president Mark Wolpert told On3. Apparently the figure presented by EA was "a "nominal increase based on the 2014 number."

According to Wolpert, EA has a plan B: fictional accolades: "If brands are going to be represented there, we want to be compensated properly. So when I explained that to the EA rep, the response came back to me that if we choose not to do that, they'll just make their own awards up and put them in the game."

However, along with EA's apparently self-created gongs, the Heisman Trophy is expected to be in College Football 25. That's because it's operated by a different organization to the NCFAA – the Heisman Trust.