EA Sports College Football 25 is here and two things are clear: The game is awesome and playing defense is hard. Don’t fret, CFN is here to help. The best way to help yourself is to start with a good playbook.
Let’s rank every defensive playbook in EA Sports College Football 25.
Top Defensive Playbooks in EA Sports College Football 25
9) Base 3-4
This is probably just a bit of personal preference, but I just don’t like using a 3-4 unless I’ve got an incredible front seven. The benefit here is you can choose where the fourth rushing comes from, mixing it up to keep the offense off balance.
Still, you’ll need a pretty strong defensive line, and if you play as a Group of Five team like me, it can be pretty frustrating to watch your linebackers get eaten up by blockers and your corners left on islands.
8) Base 4-3
We’ve come a long way since the early days of Madden when this was one of the only playbook options that made sense. It’s just too bland for me, and I find myself living in nickel instead of the base 4-3 that the playbook is named for.
It’s nothing special, but it’s at least standard enough to give you a consistent look when you’re facing a Pro-Style offense.
7) 3-4 Multiple
I personally am not a huge fan of any of the 3-4 alignments. Typically, I play with smaller Group of Five schools, and my three defensive linemen really struggle. However, 3-4 looks can be good in moderation against run-heavy offenses.
You won’t be stuck in the 3-4 formation with multiple aspects, though. If you plan on using this, emphasize recruiting linebackers who are good at block shedding and defensive linemen with good strength.
6) 3-2-6
Defensive playbooks are just like the offense. There’s a base defense that comprises most of the playbook and then different formations and packages beyond that. Players have found that pulling some plays from several of the playbooks to create a custom playbook with a 3-2-6.
This comprises of three down linemen, six defensive backs, and just two linebackers, leaving you incredibly susceptible to the run. However, if you’ve got the depth at defensive back, this is an awesome playbook to stop the pass.
5) 4-3 Multiple
This one is your standard 1995 defense with a few wrinkles. Most teams in college football don’t use just four players in the secondary, as most offenses have 11 or even 10 personnel, meaning you’ll probably need more speed.
That’s why the Multiple part of this playbook helps. Even a base 4-3 has nickel and dime packages, but the multiple parts of this gives you a few extra alignments to help you if you’re struggling against a particular offensive formation.
4) 3-3-5
I’ve found this formation takes a bit more tweaking than the following “Tite” version, so it falls just below. This is a good formation against spread offenses and allows you to match up with a variety of offensive formations.
If you’re playing against your friends, this is an awesome formation as its weaknesses tend to be against plays the casual player struggles to execute, like deep outs and flood concepts.
3) 3-3-5 Tite
This scheme is commonly referred to as the spread beater because it counters spread attacks, especially those that are run-heavy. Be careful with this one, as it’s incredibly tempting to repeatedly use a bunch of the exotic blitzes featured in this playbook. That being said, you do get the benefit of an extra 3-4 formation that isn’t in the standard 3-3-5 defense.
You’ll have tighter splits with your linebackers and may want to utilize some pre-snap adjustments, but if you can get some pass rush, the 3-3-5 Tite is your friend.
2) Multiple
So you want a bit of everything. Multiple isn’t going to have anything fancy, but you’ll be able to have a few options in a variety of formations, though no incredibly detailed. This is a solid choice in Dynasty if you play a variety of different offenses on your schedule.
It’s also a great option for figuring out what type of playbook you want later in the game, as you’ll get to try many of these other formations and decide which you like best.
1) 4-2-5
My favorite defensive formation in real life is also my favorite defensive scheme in the game. With four down linemen, you’ll have enough pass rush to force the ball out quickly, and the five defensive backs give you enough speed on the back end to keep the ball in front of you.
Specifically, this scheme is the best I’ve found at covering the middle of the field. There’s enough cover 1 here to match up against the opposition, and you might find it helps you ease into defensive play. Finally, they’ve added a “Big Nickel” set here, which is awesome for stopping pesky tight ends and running backs out of the backfield, which really helps.
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