College Football 26 Review (PS5)
Summary: College Football 2026 is sport gaming perfection, a marriage made in heaven on the PS5 Pro. Amazingly, EA improved in every way on an already outstanding title.
5
Heisman Brilliant
A year ago, I tabbed College Football 25 (’25)as arguably the top sport title of modern consoles. College Football 26 (’26) just blew it out of the water. For fans of College Football, run don’t walk to buy this gorgeous celebration of the game, yesterday.
Everything that was very good about ’25 is now astoundingly great in ’26. First, presentation clearly has the PS5 Pro in mind. Stadiums are jaw dropping magnificent down to sideline animations, diverse fan representations, playing surface look and feel, oodles more fight songs, interactive scoreboards, intelligent band music insertions, crowd meter adjustments on the fly…etc etc etc. AR is now literally 8k pixel perfect. Sound configured for specific setups. Jersey textures respond to in-game duress. Blocking meters overtly presented. I’m also loving the updated commentary that refers to players by name, in-game situations in tandem. Mid-game breaks feature relevant statistics and supporting commentary, rivalries better captured.
Amazingly, this the first game since Bill Walsh on Genesis with legitimate effort to capture band authentic fight songs throughout. I laughed out loud singing Mr. Brightside with the game as Michigan fans celebrated a romp against the UW Huskies. College Football 26 also accurately presents the visiting team fan section. Real entrances? You betcha’! There is so much love for mid-Major’s here, it brings a tear to any Eastern Carolina supporter.
In-play execution amazingly became better. The occasionally annoying jostling and bumps in and post play amongst ’25 are gone…and everything so smoooooth. Animations are the best I’ve ever seen in the Frostbite engine, with the running game unsurpassed in ability to break tackles, bounce off defenders, use momentum to advantage, and literally feel contact. The updated blocking system counters endless blitzes, and hello pancake blocks! Smarter routes and more realistic catching (including on just behind throws) are here. Sideline catches that make sense. Quarterbacks no longer suffer from the Madden pocket to oblivion simply to buy time. You want proof? My 7-year-old son ran key receiver running routes to perfection with appropriate consequence.
Defenders will logically bump receivers when wavering from plays. Patience will open blocks as they should…for the first time in an EA gridiron title. My same son (as coop player 2) executed a double cutback to a hurdle then power finish across the goal line. I cried tears of Wolverine joy along with 90000 virtual friends.
Endless vertical fly patterns (except for audibles) are ineffective, as they should be since they do not appear in actual college football except in rarest of instances. In tandem, throw into double coverage and you’re done, with Pick 6’s everywhere. Better blocking schemes and adjustments on quarterback (QB) blind sides mean no more stupid sacks and endless fumbles. Spamming blitzes are basically gone, but smart stutter pressure with the right stick is improved. Calling audibles has significantly more impact than in ’25 in adjusted coverage. Scrambles have more realistic impact.
I admittedly loathed the simplified playbooks in’ 25, and someone was listening. Hello 2500(!) new plays to choose from, with almost 50 new formations to select. If you know your team/s well, the playbooks are like gridiron Tolkien.
Frostbite Physics got some nice tweaks in tandem, as bigger and more mobile players will use this to their advantage. Finally, be wary (with lesser teams and limited replacements) on grinding down linemen. Wear and tear is calculated into effectiveness.
I’m not an Ultimate Team person or Franchise builder, but there’s greatness here as well. Coaches and their styles have specific attention, recruiting even deeper (rightly focusing on NRL transfer portal nuance), and the journey goes back to Friday night lights of High School. Coach trust, advanced substitution nuance is here as well. For card builders, welcome to ‘Study Hall’ with risk: reward the draw. Micro-transactions and I don’t mix. But if you’re a competitive online player looking for a chase card, welcome to your world.
Last, shared rosters are here again. Those wishing to recreate classic seasons…you got it.
Here’s the minor squibbles…noting EA patched the bejeebuz out of ’25 post release. AI playcalling can be super dumb with a game clock running down. Love how ’26 exploits a tired defensive line on running plays, but some CPU AI playaction is sorely needed when coverage scheme mismatch obvious. Related, AI clock management can be random foolish. Why punt with 10 seconds left in a half? Then the receiving team’s coach suggestion to punt back? Last, there desperately needs a speed clock to fast forward obvious clock eating portions. Pretty please a d button press to advance 5 seconds at a time?
Final Thoughts
As predicted, College Football ’25 would rightly become the best selling sport game of all time, with only Call of Duty outselling it last year, period. Amazingly, this year’s version is better in every way. Execution, presentation, immersion and depth go the next level on its second lap. The best amazingly just got best-ter. If you’ve got a PS5 Pro, College Football ’26 is the game designed for it .
About the Author
Paul Stuart A gamer for over 30 years, Paul Stuart has an unhealthy obsession with Assassins Creed, God of War, also sport and virtual reality titles. In his spare time, he teaches Muay Thai kickboxing, runs WrestlingInFlorida.com, and drives his toddler crazy.
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