EA Sports is releasing its much awaited follow-up to last year’s revival of its beloved college football franchise, and fans of the last game’s excellent additions to it are beyond excited to get their hands on its sequel.
That’s because the studio refused to rest on its laurels, choosing to bring a whole lot of meaningful additions to EA Sports College Football 26 that are all set to make it feel more authentic, responsive, and just way more engaging than its predecessor.
Let’s take a look at a few of these additions that you should know about before you decide to dive in for yourself and see what the fuss is all about.
#14: Your Custom Teams Carry Over
If you’ve poured a lot of time and effort into building a dream team in College Football 25, there’s good news! You have the option of importing your teams directly from the Team Builder menu with the option to apply the new game’s features to make them ready to go in just a few clicks.
That’s a great option for players looking to put their best foot forward right from the get go and a showcase of EA’s determination to make College Football 26 even better than its predecessor.
#13: A New Road to Glory Mode
EA’s bringing over one of Madden 26’s best features with its Road to Glory Mode all set to bring a layer of realism to College Football 26. You begin as a high school recruit and must climb up the ranks while building your highlight tape with the aim of being offered a scholarship with the team of your choice.
Earn the trust of managers and build a rapport with your teammates, with each decision having an impact on your journey from rags to riches. You could choose to commit to a team that you think is a great fit, or keep your options open and even decommit if you believe your interests are better served elsewhere. It’s all in your hands, just as it would be in the real world.
#12: Road to Glory Has A Hat Ceremony
For those who wish to undertake the ultimate student to athlete journey, the Road to Glory option lets you choose between 10 new archetypes and take on the challenge of going from a high school recruit to the top of your game as you reach for Heisman glory.
Rising up the ranks and achieving objectives could lead to your very own hat ceremony, letting you keep potential managers trying to guess your intentions until the very moment you decide to pick a hat to make your own. It’s time to decide what’s best for your career in a way that’s both exciting and immersive.
#11: The Road to CFP Mode Returns
If you were a fan of last year’s College Football Playoffs mode, you’ll be happy to know that the online mode that pits you against other ranked teams is making a triumphant comeback to College Football 26.
Getting the chance to compete for the National Championship Trophy is no walk in the park, though. You will have to bring your best team and your A-game to the pitch if you hope to take on other online opponents and make your way up a very competitive ladder in EA’s take on playoffs.
That’s because beating higher tier teams is the best way to improve your own ranking but be ready for a challenge as your opponents will be sure to try their best to send you packing!
#10: A More Realistic Transfer Portal System
EA is bringing sweeping changes to the Transfer Portal System from the previous game, making it reflect the real-world in order to improve your experience. The addition of features like Dynamic Dealbreakers, improvements of Playing Time logic, Conference Prestige Dealbreakers, and so much more, the new Transfer Portal could very well be among College Football 26’s most exciting additions.
What’s more, a customization option that presents a rather deep level of control over max transfers per team and transfer probability for both your own team and CPU-controlled ones lets you tweak it to your liking and fine-tune the experience to match your own preferences.
#9: New Recruiting Traits and Deal Breakers
For players who like to manage their rosters and sustain their players’ effectiveness on the pitch, new Recruiting Traits and Deal Breakers are being added to the game to make the experience more attuned to what a coach would have to face in the real world.
With time and distance being a factor along with a host of other additions, managing your recruiting process is going to add a layer of realism and new challenges in putting together a set of players that your opponents would hesitate to take on.
#8: Dynamic Play Calling
No one likes to hit pause on the action, especially in nail-biting games that could mean a chance to improve your standing or a defeat that could ruin your plans for the team that you painstakingly assembled.
In College Football 26, A new Dynamic Play Calling mechanic means that you won’t have to fiddle with menus, interrupting your fun just to ensure that your teammates behave as you intend. Instead, you can now substitute players, switch up plays, and manage their fatigue levels all while pressurizing your opponents on the fly.
It’s a change that could transform the experience that College Football 25 offered while also allowing you to make the most of the new and improved playbook and a Wear and Tear system that’s a lot more realistic this time around.
#7: Custom Defensive Zones
For College Football 25 players who lamented its limited defensive options, EA has listened to their feedback and brought additional defensive options to the pitch in its latest outing. A New Physics-based Tackling System is poised to work well with the ability to use different abilities between passes with your left stick that you earn through good blocking and shutting down your opponent’s plays.
What’s more, a plethora of new ways to fine-tune your defenses are making their way to the game, enabling you and your opponents to really take the fight to the other side. The best offense is a good defense, after all.
#6: Expanded Coaching Skill Trees
Working in tandem with the new Recruiting Traits and Deal Breakers is a new and improved coaching system that is all set to make you think long and hard about how you set about managing your teams and bringing in new talent to your roster.
You will need to think carefully about your staff and players, with location-based visits actively taking up time and effort on your part while building up an elite group of support staff directly impacts how your players are able to perform on the field. You’re going to need every advantage you can get with the new dynamic Stadium Pulse mechanic and the way in which it impacts your players’ confidence when a game is in action.
#5: Online Dynasty Cross-Play Support
Taking an already excellent Dynasty Mode to new heights is the addition of cross-play support, allowing you to truly cement your legacy as a coach who will be remembered for years to come.
With the ability to run Dynasty Mode with up to 32 other players irrespective of the platform you are playing on while the Members tab lets you keep track of their own progress, being a coach to one of the best teams out there is going to get a lot more realistic.
While cross-play in Dynasty Mode is enabled by default, you do have the option of turning it off using the Commissioner in League Settings if you decide to stay on your platform of choice.
#4: Cross-Platform Leaderboards
Cross-play isn’t just restricted to the game’s Dynasty Mode but has now made its way to all of College Football 26’s other online modes as well!
A global leaderboard lets you see where you stand and measure up your team’s strength against the best of the best across all platforms across the world. But if that’s not to your liking, the option to opt out of it and stick to the leaderboards for the platform you’re playing on is always an option!
#3: The Trophy Room is Back
EA is clearly paying attention to what its players want after the success it enjoyed when it brought back the College Football franchise last year. Among its additions based on the feedback it received is the return of the Trophy Room, allowing you to enjoy the bragging rights you earn from your wins by earning shiny trophies that you can then display for everyone to see.
With multiple ways to earn those trophies and a lot of space to display them, it’s time to get your collection going and let your success on the pitch do the talking for your friends and rivals alike.
#2: Protected Opponents in Online Dynasty
With sweeping changes to Conference Scheduling comes the ability to set Protected Opponents, allowing you to ensure that your favorite teams duke it out irrespective of how the season’s Big Ten Alignments play out.
Custom Conferences let you select up to two Protected Opponents with a few simple clicks, or simply let the game do all the heavy lifting for you at the press of a button.
#1: The New Coach Trust System
Building trust with your team as a coach, or selecting the best coach for your path to an NFL draft is now a very important part of your progress. EA is giving its players a lot of options when it comes to defining their own path, bringing a level of freedom to College Football 26 that its predecessor cannot hope to match.
The Coach Trust mechanic is sure to add a few wrinkles to your plans for any teams you create, or perhaps influence how your choices in Dynasty Mode affect your players. It’s another layer of realism to a game that seems hell-bent on replicating the college football experience that a player is likely to encounter in the real world.
EA is sure to be as excited as its players when College Football 26 launches on July 10, 2025 for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. We will have to wait and see if its new additions are as well received as its return to a long-forgotten franchise last year.
But if these new changes are any indication, the studio has another banger on its hands, and College Football fans are in for an absolute treat!
