After a 10-year hiatus due to a Name, Image, and Likeness lawsuit that ended the iconic game’s run in 2014, EA Sports officially announced Thursday that the game will be back this year, with a full reveal in May and a release of the game in the “summer,” to the joy of Penn State Football fans and college football fans everywhere.

After a decade break with many changes to the college football landscape (NIL and College Football Playoff) there are plenty of new features that the game could explore. Here are a few things that I want to see in the game when it is released this summer.

Unique team-specific features in dynasty mode

College football has one of the most extreme followings out of any sport, with each team having traditions and superstitions on gameday that have been developed by fans and alumni over generations.

As parents bring their kids and kids grow up in the traditions, some of the traditions in college football have grown into iconic moments recognizable around the country. In the new game, EA Sports should ensure that each team’s traditions and superstitions are featured in the game to give fans and alumni of the team the feeling that EA Sports understands their college football experience and feels invested in the details of the game.

Traditions around college football like Penn State’s “We Are” chant and annual White Out, Wisconsin’s “Jump Around”, Ohio State’s dotting the I, and Virginia Tech’s “Enter Sandman” would make the game experience more authentic to the feeling attending or watching a college football game in real life.

Specifically for Penn State Football, I would like to see the “We Are” chant, the annual White Out on the schedule, Zombie Nation chants, and the “Generations of Greatness” alternate uniforms make an appearance in the game.

Mascot mashup

One of the cool features of the 2014 NCAA Football video game was the mascot mashup mode.

Players could take the actual mascots from each school and play an exhibition against another school’s mascot. While very unrealistic and gimmicky, this was a cool feature to pit your alma mater’s mascot against your rival in fun gameplay. I specifically remember growing up and pitting the Nittany Lion against my brother’s Brutus from Ohio State, which is a core video game memory.

<< BUY 2024 PSU FOOTBALL TICKETS >>

Recruiting pipelines that change with assistant coaches

While schools generally have a recruiting footprint in the region that the school is located, schools have developed other pipelines through the years through assistant coaches.

At Penn State, running back coach Ja’Juan Seider brought Penn State recruiting back into Florida and has consistently given the Nittany Lions a recruiting presence over his six years in State College.

The new EA Sports game should allow you to hire assistant coaches (offensive and defensive coordinators) that have recruiting ties to a particular area of the country that help you establish a recruiting pipeline in that area. This would add to the strategy of the game while giving the player a more authentic experience to the recruiting scene that schools face in real life.

Customizable College Football Playoff

The move from a four-team playoff to a 12-team playoff was not loved by everyone around the country.

While some people are excited for the expansion, others claim that the expansion “rewards mediocrity” giving too many teams a shot at the national title. I hope that the playoff is customizable in the new game and the number of teams can be increased or decreased. Allowing the playoff to change from four to eight, 12, or 16 teams would allow the player to simulate changes to the college football landscape over time and make it easier or harder for a player to build a consistent college football playoff team.

NIL and Transfer Portal stat targets

With the addition of NIL and the transfer portal in the new game, I would love to see it add complexity to roster management. If a player receives an NIL deal or is likely to transfer, I would like the developers to code in statistical requirements for each deal or player.

For example, a freshman could demand at least ten snaps a game or to play in at least eight games to stay out of the transfer portal or an NIL deal could require a running back to post at least 75 yards average or a defensive end to have at least five sacks to get the player his money. This would give the game the added complexity seen in today’s college football and add to the gaming experience.

Cannot come out soon enough pic.twitter.com/u1OBvrytxY

— Penn State FB Thoughts (@PSU_FB_Thoughts) February 15, 2024

The new EA Sports College Football 25 has an incredible potential to be an amazing game. The trailer released Thursday shows the incredible detail that the team at EA Sports is working on for the new game. No matter what features the game does and does not have, I am sure the game will be a top seller to college football fans around the world, but these five features could make the game absolutely legendary. I, for one, cannot wait to sit down and play through a season at Beaver Stadium with the Nittany Lions and work to build the team back into national champions.

MORE: Top Penn State Defender Making Surprising Position Change

A note to our readers; If you make a purchase through one of our affiliate links, we may receive a commission