What Game Mode to Tackle First?

After taking care of some personal business, Brandon Scobey debates where to start his College Football '25 journey.

Over a decade has passed since the last installment of EA Sports’ college football video game franchise hit shelves.

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson graced the cover of NCAA Football 14 when it was released in May 2013.

The anticipation for this game is unlike anything sports video games have ever seen. The list of hoops that EA has had to jump through to make this game a reality is extensive, but they’ve found a way to do it, and now we’re weeks away from finally playing the game.

I was in elementary school the last time I played the game; today, as a 22-year-old junior attending Florida A&M, I’m excited to relive my childhood and get my hands on the game.

For weeks, I’ve debated in my head what exactly the first game mode I will play once the game drops. It’s been a constant back-and-forth. Will I start with the road to Glory as a 2-star at a small school and put the program on the map?

Or what about dynasty mode? I can finally bring my beloved Oklahoma Sooners their first national championship since 2000 and dominate the SEC.

What about the often-maligned ultimate team? It’s a mode overrun with microtransactions and is heavily pay-to-play oriented.

Road To The College Football Playoff? In an online head-to-head mode, you must win 10 games to win the national championship while using different tier schools to rank.

After thinking about everything, I started with the classic play. It’s been years since we’ve had a college football game, and from everything we’ve seen, it will be a much steeper learning curve than previous iterations of the game.

Figuring out the wear and tear system, learning each player’s abilities, seeing how players perform on the road, the new home field advantage meter. These are all things that I want to learn and get an idea of before hopping into the other modes.

As stated in the beginning, I’m an avid Oklahoma fan. I have been a fan since I was 8 years old. It feels fitting that they are the first team to use it in the new game. The plan is to get revenge in the last Bedlam game and beat Oklahoma State by 90 on the easier difficulty.

After that’s out of my system, I plan to use the typical P5 teams and get a feel for their playbook and environment. It was a big selling point in the game’s creation, and I’m excited to see how well it translates.

Quick play has a nostalgic feel to me that the others can’t hit. Playing hundreds of games (while losing most of them) was a critical part of my childhood and helped shape my love for the sport.

“The passion of this team has been the driving force behind this game, and it is a sentiment visibly shown as soon as you launch the game.” This quote sets college football apart—the sheer passion of each fan base.

I’m sure many of you will feel the same way on release day when loading up the game for the first time. For a few hours, you’ll feel like a kid again. In all honesty, playing video games is how we all want to feel.

Brandon Scobey is a Featured Columnist for Four Verts: A College Football 25 Substack. He also writes for The League Winners covering the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oklahoma Sooners. You can follow him on X and Instagram at yoitsbrandonfr.

Can We All Agree this List is Terrible?

A few quick thoughts: LSU is No. 1.

Kyle Field should not be on the list.

No Neyland Stadium? No Autzen? No Big House?

How would you change this list?