Every college football player knows their third year defines their career trajectory. That’s why one of EA Sports College Football 27’s (CFB27) cover athletes, Dante Moore, opted to return to Oregon rather than declare for the 2026 NFL Draft. The talented quarterback understood that another strong season would increase his already-impressive draft stock. Like Moore, CFB27 enters its junior year with high expectations. The previous two entries showcased bursts of potential, and EA Tiburon’s third effort brings strong tweaks and new mechanics to both sides of the ball while also reintroducing a well-liked arcade mode. Thankfully, these updates expand on the series’ highlight reel, even if some egregious lowlights threaten to tarnish its legacy.
College football is about extreme speed and physicality. CFB27 embraces that from the moment the ball is hiked. Pass catchers and blitzers attempt to jump the snap, finding holes in coverage and blocks, respectively. Defensive backs use their hands to jostle receivers at the line of scrimmage and in the secondary, disrupting routes. Desperate quarterbacks lunge over manpiles at the one-yard line. Success on CFB27’s gridiron, like in real life, is tied to split-second decision-making and timing. Throwing a dot through double coverage and making a risky time-based catch against human or computer-controlled opponents is always exciting. And flicking a stick to wrap up a beefy runner, rather than clicking a button, feels strikingly organic. Everything looks great and plays well, especially during inclement weather, and EA Tiburon finally included a detailed skills trainer in the main menu to help freshmen and seniors alike learn these new and improved interactions.
Most of the smart gameplay changes are best experienced in Road to Glory. The new edge, free safety, and tight end positions are welcome additions to the loop, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Edges see the most action per down, fighting through double teams, chip blocks, and tackle-avoidant ball carriers. Stat increases come easily when you’re that close to the quarterback, but the same can’t be said for the often deflating safety experience. I was usually too far back to stop the run, and unless the offense needed a deep pass, my zones were rarely targeted. Playing as a tight end, however, offered a more dynamic career. If I wasn’t one-handing catches between the hashes, I was pancaking rushers like the dynamic playmaker scouts projected me to be.
Sadly, my other responsibilities, balancing academics, leadership, health, fitness, and brand, are less interesting. Not much happens beyond weekly practices and matchups. Moreover, none of the micromanagement activities come close to feeling as impactful as my gameday performances. Occasionally, teammates, classmates, coaches, and sponsors spice up the monotony, offering extracurricular opportunities, like skipping class for a party, watching film, or starring in commercials, but beyond accepting or declining their invitations for temporary buffs/debuffs, the loop grew stale long before I hung up my cleats. And inconsistencies in presentation, like being berated by my coach even after scoring a flashy, game-winning touchdown, as well as context – the university newspaper interviewed me about being a quarterback even though I was a linebacker – were concerning.
Unfortunately, intrusive microtransactions have also been added to the mix. In Road to Glory, ability points can be purchased to sidestep the slow burn of player progression. That, in and of itself, is bad enough, but CFB27 takes this a step further by including similar predatory tactics in its beloved Dynasty mode. By removing options to accelerate coach progression, players are now forced to either gradually increase their level over a long 30-year career or spend money to unlock their favorite skills ASAP. Fast-tracking your player or coach’s development using the latter method is nowhere near as intrusive as the College Football Ultimate Team advertisements that litter the main menu. Even so, incentivizing players to disengage with Road to Glory and Dynasty’s deep progression systems is a massive step back, rendering CFB’s most popular game modes inconsistent at best and hollow at worst.
This shift is particularly alarming because Dynasty is otherwise in the best shape it’s ever been in. Dynamic athletic director expectations imbue each college with much-needed personality. The fans and wider administration of the University of Alabama expect playoff berths every year and won’t be too keen on keeping you around if losses start to mount. But the less prominent Kent State is more focused on rebuilding following a mass exodus of talent after a middling 2025 season, understanding that true success takes years to achieve. I loved playing within the confines of both extremes. Losing to hated rival Ohio State in my first year with Michigan was serious enough to land me on the hot seat, while signing my first three-star recruit after winning a bowl game with a small school practically transformed me into a community hero overnight.
Both outcomes felt deeply personalized and empowered me to invest dozens of hours in Dynasty’s best new feature, Blueprint, which gave me unprecedented control over how I built my football program. From dumping a fortune or a few pennies’ worth of Dynasty Points into equipment like ice baths, reducing the wear and tear of my players, to hiring support staff for a sports performance department that facilitated offseason training, CFB27’s newfound level of freedom in recruiting, developing, and retaining talent has never been more intuitive or satisfying. That’s not to say the mode is without flaws – I’ve witnessed major schools with truckloads of NIL money sign dozens of highly touted recruits, leaving the rest of the college football landscape in shambles. This might not be so far removed from the bleak realities of the sport, but seeing Georgia bring in a whopping 25 four-star and 9 five-star players each year is downright immersion-breaking and, quite frankly, ridiculous.
Ultimate Team is the same polarizing, heavily monetized mode as in previous games. Complete challenges, collect (or buy) currency, open card packs. Rinse and repeat. I can see how the allure of acquiring coveted players and maxing their overalls can be appealing to competitive football fans, but the deeper and more expansive Dynasty and Road to Glory campaigns will likely monopolize my time.
I’ll probably even jump into Mascot Mashup on occasion, too. A nice callback to the classic, zany quickplay mode from EA Sports’ NCAA Football franchise, Mascot Mashup pits over 100 teams of iconic mascots against each other. Unlocking them is as simple as winning a Play Now match with the college of your choice. Mascot Matchup serves as a nice break from some of the other, more intense offerings. There’s plenty of laughs to be had alone or with friends, especially after seeing an Indiana Hoosier side-flip-juke a Stanford tree and run 60 yards to daylight.
On the field, CFB27 dazzles. I never tired of running down The Hill in Clemson Memorial Stadium, the pyrotechnics lighting the night sky and a swarm of drones tracing a Tiger above a distant jumbotron. Sudden rain and snowstorms constantly made fourth-quarter bouts more epic. And celebrating with my guys after running back an interception was arguably more cathartic than watching the real thing. Nevertheless, the off-the-field issues, namely, shallow progression systems and the transformative inclusion of microtransactions in practically every mode, were disappointing. CFB27 made some fantastic key plays down the stretch in its junior season, but the team will need to make more improvements in the offseason if it wants to hoist that championship trophy next year.