College Football 25: Which teams we’re picking for Dynasty mode, Road to Glory and more

This game is going to be so much fun

Folks, it’s almost our time. After 11 years, college football is finally back in video game form.

EA Sports’ College Football 25 will finally be released officially on July 19. Many of us can’t wait to play it. Uhhh, some of us have already begun playing it and haven’t quite figured out how to stop.

RELATED: The top 100 players in CFB 25.

There’s so much good with this game. The detail is unreal. Both the Dynasty and Road To Glory modes look incredible. It looks like EA Sports has a hit on its hands.

Many of the staffers here at For The Win will play the game when it finally comes out. We wanted the skinny on how they’d be playing it. Which team will be their go-to for playing head-to-head? What school are they rebuilding in Dynasty mode? Who are they leading to the promised land in Road To Glory? Do they even know what Road To Glory is?

Check out their answers here.

What team will you use for Play Now head-to-head mode?

Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

Mike Sykes: I’m going to go with Kansas. I know some of my colleagues here will probably make the same pick. Jalon Daniels is that good, though. I just need a good QB and the rest will work itself out.

Tyler Nettuno: I’m loyal to a fault, so I will be sticking with the Gators here. But since I cover LSU, I’m going to have to play with the Tigers a lot and definitely will not base any of my game predictions on College Football 25.

Christian D’Andrea: I will hit random and if the game gives me Tennessee I will take it as a sign the universe can no longer offer me good things.

Prince Grimes: Probably won’t be any constant. Could be Colorado and Shedeur Sanders one day, Oregon’s cool unis the next.

Blake Schuster: As if I weren’t going to already immediatley use Kansas, Sykes hyped me up even more.

Bryan Kalbrosky: Oregon. Why else did I pay four years out-of-state tuition if not to win in a video game when their offense and defense are both elite?

Nick Schwartz: Anybody but North Carolina.


Go-to Dynasty team?

Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Schwartz: I really like Kent State as a starting option. The MAC is a super-competitive conference so your games will be close, but you’re also in a talent-rich state so recruiting should be fruitful. The Golden Flashes also have some of the best uniform options in the game, with 5 different uniform sets and more than *20* helmet options. They’re basically the Oregon of Ohio.

Christian D’Andrea: Vanderbilt because a) I went there and b) I hate myself.

Prince Grimes: Maryland. I’ve been mostly undecided for the lead-up to release because I wanted to get creative and step outside of my typical homer pick. But I won’t be able to resist the temptation of having the Terps dominate the Big Ten and actually keep the best in-state talent home for once.

Tyler Netunno: I’m going to start as an OC at an FBS team that wasn’t in the previous game. I’m still undecided, but I think the current finalists are Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State or Sam Houston.

Bryan Kalbrosky: Oregon is already perfect so I don’t need to mess with a good thing. I’m going to find a mobile quarterback for UCLA and watch the sunsets at the Rose Bowl.

Blake Schuster: Starting as the OC at App State because I want to work my way up, but also have you seen how sick the views are from the stadium???

Mike Sykes: I’ve landed on Florida Atlantic University. Obviously, being directly in Florida is a big deal. You’ll get access to all of those recruits and have a pipeline directly linked to some of the best prospects. We have a lot of competition in the state, but I’m confident I can make it one of the best programs in the nation. I’ll do what Lane Kiffin could not. Have I thought about this way too much? Absolutely.


What about Road to Glory?

Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Christian D’Andrea: I don’t know what that is. I’m assuming a B-tier wrestling pay-per-view.

Mike Sykes: Alright. So I wanted to go home and pick Maryland, right? But I also needed a challenge. I’m tryna Elden Ring this thing, you know what I mean? I’m going to be a two-star “underdog” recruit playing at…Old Dominion University.

Note from Sykes: I DID THIS AND IT WAS A MISTAKE. PLEASE DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AS ME. I’M BEGGING YOU.

Bryan Kalbrosky: I’m excited to keep my options open, although I’ve watched enough Friday Night Lights to fantasize about starring for the Texas Longhorns.

Nick Schwartz: I went with Duke initially as a running back – but I think if I could do it over again I’d play QB at a smaller school just to give myself more of an impact on gameplay.

Tyler Netunno: I don’t think I can do anything other than start with my alma mater, the Florida Gators, so I can virtually live out dreams that were never possible due to being 5-foot-10 and slow.

Prince Grimes: Oh, it’s way too soon to say now. I’ll narrow my decision to whichever teams show the most interest in recruiting. From there, we’ll go where we feel most comfortable. A place where I can win a natty and boost my professional stock. Nothing too serious.

Blake Schuster: Kansas, because it’s a sleeping giant with a new stadium on the way and you can easily become one of the greatest players the school has ever seen.


What position will you play?

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Blake: Running back, but more Devin Neal than Pooka Williams.

Tyler: I’m going to be honest, I’ve never been a fan of non-quarterback positions in Road to Glory. Running back gets boring, and I’ve never liked the user receiver controls. QB all day.

Nick: RTG as a RB or WR has its moments, but you’re also a prisoner of your coaches and playbooks.If you aren’t a first-year starter, prepare to spend a lot of plays doing nothing but blocking. And even when you do get some carries, a good portion of them are going to get blown up. I’d say RTG is best experienced as a quarterback.

Prince: Yeah, it’s quarterback for me. I want all the heat, good and bad. We’re built for it.

Bryan: I’d have to try quarterback, but if it’s too challenging for me after years of not playing football video games, maybe I’d switch to something simpler where I can still get some action like tight end.

Christian: As a truly awful option quarterback, I will not rest until I have shattered my femur misreading the defense on an RPO.

Sykes: You’ve got to start at QB, right? I wanted to choose running back but the underdog QB story was too enticing.

Another note from Sykes: NONE OF MY TEAMMATES CAN CATCH OMG WHAT IS HAPPENING.


Are you playing Dynasty or Road to Glory first?

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban leads the team onto the field before their game against the Georgia Bulldogs during the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Prince: Road to Glory. I just feel like this is a good starting point to get my feet wet. Something with an endpoint. Once I start dynasty, I probably won’t go back to anything else.

Sykes: I started with Road to Glory. I know if I start with Dynasty I’ll quite literally never stop. You all my never hear from me again. You don’t want that, do you? That’s what I thought.

Nick: I’ve spent way more time in Dynasty to this point, which is hugely addictive.

Tyler: Dynasty is definitely the mode I will spend the most time with, but I think I want to get my feet wet before diving into a long-term dynasty, so I will probably run a Road To Glory career first.

Bryan: Dynasty, for sure. When I play sports video games, I genuinely prefer assembling rosters and all of that goofy stuff way more than I actually enjoy playing the games themselves. It tickles my brain.

Blake: Dynasty is what I’ve been craving since 2014 and as much fun as RTG is, Dynasty will always be what I think of first with this franchise.

Christian: WHAT THE [expletive] IS ROAD TO GLORY

CBS Sports explains why you should pick Florida in College Football 25

Brad Crawford prefers to the Florida Gators on College Football 25 with a true freshman under center.

EA Sports College Football 25 was released on Monday to those who ordered the deluxe version of the game or have an EA Play membership, giving the world an early view of the highly-anticipated video game.

The sports media has pounced on the topic since its 4 p.m. ET release and many have already expressed their excitement after playing the first update to the game in over a decade. CBS Sports had its staff try out all 134 teams featured in EA Sports’ latest offering, with Brad Crawford drawing the Southeastern Conference.

That includes the Florida Gators — a program that he decided to mix things up under center to see what the squad can do on offense.

“We’re not downing [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] here, but go ahead and rip the band-aid off in Gainesville with a freshman starter at quarterback and see what you can get out of five-star [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag],” Crawford said. “Throw it to wideout [autotag]Eugene Wilson[/autotag], who might be the SEC’s best-kept secret.

According to the in-game ratings, Mertz is valued at 84 while Lagway gets an 80 rating in his true freshman year. Wilson earns an 86 rating, but do not sleep on incoming transfer [autotag]Elijhah Badger[/autotag], who earned an 85 rating.

Running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson[/autotag] and offensive lineman [autotag]Jake Slaughter[/autotag] hold the best rating on the offensive side of the ball at 87.

Player ratings for Gators’ roster in EA Sports College Football 25

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Two reasons why you should play as the Colorado Buffaloes in College Football 25

There are two main reasons why you should play as Colorado in College Football 25

Colorado fans don’t need any additional reasons to play as the Buffs in EA Sports College Football 25. But for other fanbases that were curious, CBS Sports recently broke down why CU is an intriguing team to operate.

On Monday, CBS Sports published an article giving readers one reason to play as each of the 134 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in the video game. For the Buffs, their draw came down to two main reasons: quarterback Shedeur Sanders and cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter. Both have been prominently featured ahead of the game’s widespread release, ranging from Hunter making the cover to Sanders getting his signature celebration programmed into the game.

Colorado’s two superstars are set for big seasons and you can now enjoy their talents in College Football 25. Here’s what CBS Sports wrote on why users should play as Colorado:

Any interest in playing with two of the top-rated players in “College Football 25?” Cover star Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders will put up video game numbers… literally.

Contact/Follow us @BuffaloesWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Colorado news, notes and opinions.

EA Sports found a song that sounds eerily similar to Enter Sandman for Virginia Tech’s entrance

That might be TOO close actually.

After an 11-year hiatus, EA Sports is back with College Football 25 for this season. And among the features is an added emphasis on replicating the unique atmospheres, pageantry and entrances for top college football programs. But given licensing costs for music (or, really, EA’s unwillingness to pay), it wasn’t feasible for every program.

When it came to Virginia Tech, though, EA Sports appeared to get as close as legally possible to the real thing.

Back in May, it was reported that Metallica’s Enter Sandman would not be included in Virginia Tech’s iconic entrance at Lane Stadium for the game. Instead, EA Sports would settle for a generic rock anthem. That *generic* anthem turned out to be almost indistinguishable from the actual song.

Check it out:

Sure, there are no vocals, and there are slight changes to the song’s progression. But it’s so obviously trying to be a replica of Enter Sandman — almost to the point that Metallica might take issue with it.

Fans certainly appreciated that EA Sports tried to come as close as it could to Enter Sandman. That Virginia Tech entrance needed to be included in the game, and this version did it justice.

This was how Twitter/X reacted

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Patrick Mahomes bringing a TV to Chiefs training camp for College Football 25 and the Olympics was so relatable

Patrick Mahomes is just like us.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes reported to 2024 NFL training camp on Tuesday, but not without a very important accessory.

According to Fox 4 Kansas City reporter Harold R. Kuntz, Mahomes mentioned bringing a television to the training camp dormitories for the first time for two very important reasons.

“I brought a TV for NCAA (College Football 25) and the Olympics,” Mahomes said, according to Kuntz.

Honestly, that makes a lot of sense to us. The release of the first college football video game in more than a decade has plenty of folks rushing to their video game consoles to check it out, and the 2024 Paris Olympics are right around the corner.

It sounds like Mahomes is basically like any of us with how he approached training camp this year: there’s got to be a television somewhere near once the work is done with all the fun to be had in front of the tube this month.

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The Minnesota Golden Gopher’s College Football 25 celebration is absolutely delightful

The Minnesota Golden Gopher is one of the breakout stars of College Football 25.

As college football fans celebrate this week’s release of College Football 25, the various Easter eggs and little details hidden in the game by its developers are beginning to come to light.

One fun twist that’s already catching fans’ attention is how the Minnesota mascot celebrates a big play for the team.

The Golden Gopher has indeed taken some spotlight with the new edition of the EA Sports game, as the mascot unexpectedly turns his head around a few times in a 360 circle whenever Minnesota is able to make a big splash on the football field.

While mascot celebrations aren’t anything out of the ordinary, watching Golden Gopher spin his head around in a full circle is the kind of unexpectedly hilarious surprise that makes this such a welcome return for a college football video game.

See for yourself how the Golden Gopher twists its head around below.

Apparently, the Golden Gopher has pulled this off in real life, too.

 

 

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A quick review of College Football 25 after playing it for way too long in 1 day

This game is SO FUN.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you giving us some of your time.

I am not proud to admit that I paid an extra $30 to play College Football 25 three days ahead of schedule. Technically, the game has not yet been released, but with early access, some folks could play on Monday. I was one of them.

And, boy, let me tell y’all: I had an absolute blast. I started playing on Monday after dinner, around 6 p.m. The next thing I knew, the street lights were on outside and my clock said midnight.

Did I stop there? You be the judge of that. Just know the inner-teen in me who hadn’t seen this game did not want me to stop playing.

READ MORE: CFB 25’s top 100 players

The game is incredible. If you’ve been a longtime fan of the franchise, fret not. It plays almost exactly how you remember it. I played it on PS5.

The gameplay felt incredibly smooth and realistic. I started playing mini-games to get the hang of things and they were incredibly useful — especially all of the QB drills. When you play the QB drills, by the way,  make sure you pick a good quarterback. That’s extremely important.

There are drills for each position on the field, too, so it doesn’t stop there. I didn’t complete all of them, but it took me around three hours to get through the offense drills.

There were some annoyances on my part as far as controls go because it adopted some of Madden’s button functions. For example, pump faking on the old NCAA games was L1. Now, you’ve got to double-tap the receiver’s button to fake the pass.

I haven’t touched Dynasty Mode yet — I’ll probably save that for this weekend. Instead, I started with Road to Glory and made it as hard as possible.

I picked the two-star recruit build and started as bench QB at Old Dominion. I basically put the setting on “Elden Ring but make it football.” My rating started at 60. It took me a full season to become a starter. I had to literally earn everything — this isn’t one of those modes where you get promoted just because you’re playing the game.

Along the way I got a couple of NIL deals! They impacted my rating, too, which was a good bit of functionality to add to the game. The transfer portal does exist, too. In the offseason, you get a chance to make your move. I probably will next year. My team stinks, man.

I don’t have a full rating for this one yet because it’s still so early, but this game seems as awesome as I thought it would be.


The Home Run Derby was fun!

(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

I’ve got to hand it to baseball, man. They know how to put on a good home run derby. Even the terrible national anthem was fun.

The new format had me a bit squeamish at first. I didn’t like the idea of an untimed bonus round after a timed round with a pitch limit. But, as it turns out, it added some drama to the event!

Things came down to the wire between Teoscar Hernandez, who eventually won, and Bobby Witt Jr. He came so close to tying things up on his final out. Agonizingly close, as our Cory Woodroof describes it.

That’s brutal. But it’s also fun! This was fun. Don’t change this format, MLB. You’ve got a good thing going.


SKIIIIIIIIP?!?

(ESPN)

After seeing Skip Bayless over the last eight years of FS1 doing Undisputed, it sounds like he may be on the move.

Our Tyler Nettuno has more on this potential shakeup:

“Bayless, one of the biggest names in sports media, left ESPN in what was seen as something of a coup back in 2016. He had previously hosted the show “First Take” for the network from 2007-16.

Now, he’s reportedly a free agent again.

Glasspiegel reports that the show has seen a dip in ratings since Sharpe’s departure following the 2023 NBA Finals. After taking several months off, the program returned with a new format that featured a rotating panel of guests joining Bayless.”

Watching that show come apart after Sharpe’s departure has been fascinating. Bayless is still Bayless — you know what you’re getting with him. But no personality has matched him. It started off chaotic and has been that ever since.

We’ll see where Bayless lands next, if he lands anywhere at all. He may retire and ride into the sunset after such a long career on television.


Quick hits: Jaylen Brown’s Bronny James take … Five things on Kenny Bednarek … and more

— Jaylen Brown seemed to have quite a bit to say about Bronny James while sitting at NBA Summer League. Here’s Charles Curtis with more.

— Mary Clarke has everything you need to know about U.S. track star Kenny Bednarek ahead of the Olympics.

— In light of the awful national anthem we had to sit through for the derby, here’s Charles again with the five worst anthem performances ever.

— Nick Chubb squatting 600 pounds is insane. Just ridiculous. Here’s Robert Zeglinski with more.

— The Dolphins said their stadium suffered “significant damage” after the Copa América disaster. Here’s Andrew Joseph with more.

— Nick Saban being rejected by a grandma at SEC Media Day is hilarious.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you! Have a great one. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

MSU WR Montorie Foster Jr. reacts to being in new College Football 25 video game

Check out Montorie Foster Jr.’s reaction to being included in the highly-anticipated video game

The Spartans’ top wide receiver got to experience something for the first time on Monday: see (and possibly play as) himself in a video game.

The Deluxe Edition of EA Sports’ College Football 25 was released on Monday, which got a ton of attention from college football fans, players and coaches across the country. That included Michigan State wide receiver Montorie Foster Jr.

Check out below Foster’s reaction to being included in the highly-anticipated video game:

Foster is one of the highest-rated Spartans in the game with an 82 overall rating. Check out a breakdown of the top Spartans in the game by clicking on the post below:

Top Spartans in EA College Football 25 Released

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

MSU rated as one of worst Power Four schools in new College Football 25 video game

MSU is rated as one of the worst power four teams in the newly released College Football 25 video game from EA Sports

Michigan State is rated as one of the worst power four teams in the newly released College Football 25 video game from EA Sports.

The Deluxe Edition of College Football 25 was released on Monday afternoon, which has personally filled up my social media feeds with reviews and general excitement for the game. One of the interesting things I came across was a breakdown of each power four team’s overall team rating and somewhat surprisingly Michigan State was rated as one of the worst.

The Spartans came in at an overall team rating of 80, which ranks as the second-lowest team rating in the Big Ten with Northwestern. Only Maryland at 79 overall is lower than the Spartans and Wildcats.

Nationally, the Spartans are tied with a number of schools at No. 53 out of 65 power four teams. Check out the complete team breakdown of overall ratings below — courtesy of College Football Report:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

Top 13 overall rated Texas Longhorns in ‘College Football 25’

Who are the highest-ranked Longhorn players in ‘College Football 25?’

The 11-year wait is finally over as the deluxe edition of ‘College Football 25’ is officially available to play. The standard edition of the game will be released on Friday, but for those who couldn’t wait the three extra days, it sounds as if the decision to get the game early was wise.

Among the most popular teams in the game to play with will be the No. 5 ranked Texas Longhorns (92 overall). The Longhorns alone have arguably one of the strongest quarterback rooms of all time with Quinn Ewers (92 overall) and Arch Manning (87 overall).

To make matters even scarier for defenses, Texas has four skill players rated an 86 or higher with each of them exceeding 90 in speed. One of those four players is former Alabama Crimson Tide WR Isaiah Bond who will have a blistering 98 speed.

Texas will have no shortage of talent in ‘College Football 25,’  as the top 13 Longhorns are ranked below:

  • 94 overall, LT, Kelvin Banks Jr.
  • 92 overall, QB, Quinn Ewers
  • 89 overall, FS, Andrew Mukuba
  • 89 overall, LE, Trey Moore
  • 88 overall, WR, Isaiah Bond
  • 88 overall, SS, Jahdae Barron
  • 87 overall, CB, Malik Muhammaed
  • 87 overall, QB, Arch Manning
  • 87 overall, HB, C.J. Baxter
  • 86 overall, C, J. Majors
  • 86 overall, ROLB, Anthony Hill Jr.
  • 86 overall, WR, Silas Bolden
  • 86 overall, WR, Matthew Golden

Which Longhorn are you most excited to play with? Or, if you’ve already played, who was the best player in the game for Texas?

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.