After 11 long years, the EA Sports college football series made its long-awaited return with College Football 25. Now, just a year later, the hype train is still rolling. With over 300 real-life coaches, a revamped “Home Field Advantage 2.0,” an expanded transfer portal, and new location-based recruiting visits, College Football 26 sets the bar even higher.
EA has introduced refined gameplay mechanics, a trophy room in Dynasty Mode, and added crossplay to Online Dynasty. Players can also choose from 10 new archetypes in Road to Glory. It’s college football at its finest.
However, when the beta dropped from June 6–8, some fans who got early access were caught off guard, not all the highly touted features felt like a guaranteed touchdown.
CFB 26 Beta Branded the ‘Polar Opposite’ of 25′: Upgrade or Letdown?
When EA launched its closed beta earlier this month, it was supposed to be a technical tune-up. But CFB content creator Joe Bruin had something to say, and it was not all technical. He took to X and wrote. “Every DB is Prime Revis.”
It looks like the defense rules with Darrelle Revis-level play in CFB 26, and the offense might need a prayer or two.
Bruin then went on to talk about the underwhelming energy with the quarterbacks.
CFB26 Beta Gameplay Notes
Most issues have to do with QBs being ass and ratings across the board being low, which are typical beta things. Lots of pre snap bugs with alignment when running zone.
Biggest Changes
– No Speed Outs make offense harder, especially in long…
— Cook (@iJoebruin) June 8, 2025
“Most issues have to do with QBs being ass,” he noted, citing low ratings and buggy zone alignments.
Offenses in general seem to have taken a back seat in favour of more aggressive, lockdown defenses. Speed outs seem to be a thing of yesterday, and acceleration seems to be slower. And explosive plays are not looking all that easy.
But it is not all bad. While the offensive side seems to be struggling, the defense is pretty great. Man coverage is sticky to the point of suffocating, and zone defenders are breaking up passes. Defensive backs are reacting faster, knocking passes loose with precision. However, catching INTs is not easy. The ball’s hitting more turf than hands.
There are some silver linings in the offense, too. As per Bruin, “New O Line feature of marking them as ‘Unblocked’ is really good to counter 6-1 and 3/4 odd forms.”
The twist for countering blitzes and dynamic abilities brings some new flavour. But Bruins’ bottom line is, CFB 26 is the “polar opposite of 25.”
If one is a casual player who thrives on big plays and arcade-style shootouts, this version might feel like a brick wall. The beta, of course, had bugs that EA Sports had already revealed.
The disclosed issues included deep zone defenders taking odd steps, defensive backs covering streaks didn’t always switch correctly, and even catch mechanics being a little off. They had also mentioned the occasional moments when the offensive linemen turned their backs on defenders like they’d seen a ghost.
Now, coming to the playbooks, it seemed like there were not many changes from last year. Only five or six truly viable options, especially for pass-heavy users.
As Bruin puts it, “Playbooks to me still feel underwhelming, there’s like 5/6 really good ones that everyone will run, really not a lot of variety for passers.”
But amidst the mess, there might be some serious goodness. Stemmed zones and pre-snap safety alignments are a win. Pursuit angles feel tighter. Subbing on offense is smoother.
As Bruin puts it, “New Safety pre-play alignment stuff is a Big Big Big W as long as takeoff is gone or a lot of AP.”
KEEP READING: EA Sports College Football 26 Leaks Go Viral With Sneak Peek at New Features
But if this version of CFB 26 launched today, Bruin says “the casual H2H/CUT community would hate it.”
And that is largely because the offense is hard. But that might just be intentional.
College football isn’t about perfect 50-yard bombs every drive. It’s chaos, it’s fourth-down heartbreaks and defensive dogfights. EA’s still tuning things, and with community feedback pouring in from the beta, the final build could balance things out. However, for now, it seems like CFB 26 is not all touchdown.
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