Why Northwestern could be a fun dynasty team in EA Sports College Football 25

After a 11 long years in the wilderness, the college football gods have brought us home. EA Sports College Football 25 is here, and it’s beautiful.

The new game comes with an intricately detailed dynasty mode allowing you to take over a program across multiple seasons, complete with recruiting, the transfer portal and the offseason coaching carousel. Fans of NCAA Football 14 — the last iteration of the game that was released prior to the 2013 season — know that dynasty mode is more fun when it’s a challenge.

Yes, if you’re a soulless robot allergic to warmth and impervious to love, you could take over Georgia as Kirby Smart and compete for a national championship in your first season. To get the most of the game, you have to build a program and take your guys to the promised land yourself.

The 2024 Northwestern Wildcats fit the bill as a fun dynasty team in EA Sports College Football 25. Of course, the ‘Cats are not national title contenders, and their 80 overall rating places Northwestern as the 60th ranked team out of the 68 power conference programs. It will be a grind to deliver a trophy to Evanston, but Northwestern is worthy of a rebuild beyond just the low-rating.

Here’s why you should take charge of the ‘Cats:

A wicked fast set of skill players and the system in place to unlock them

Northwestern’s highest ranked offensive player is running back Cam Porter, who sits at a meager 84. Mike Wright, Northwestern’s projected opening day starter at quarterback, is a 73. On paper, it’s not exactly a recipe for high-powered offense.

But man is the Northwestern offense fast. Wide receivers Bryce Kirtz and AJ Henning sit at 94 and 92 speed respectively. Porter brings 87 speed and 85 agility. 73 overall Mike Wright has 91 speed and 90 agility at the quarterback position. It’s a little impossible to throw an out route with the guy, but holy the option game is disgusting.

Northwestern also hired an offensive coordinator this offseason in Zach Lujan who is primed to get the best out of his high-powered playmakers. Lujan excelled with mobile quarterbacks during his time running the offense at South Dakota State. He unlocked Walter Camp Award winner (think the Heisman Trophy of the FCS) Mark Gronowski with a bevy of RPOs and a deep bag of quarterback options. EA does his scheme justice in the game with a litany of creative ways to get the ball out to these speedsters in space.

The movement on the game is electric. The feel is phenomenal. I’ve got negative stick skills, and I’m still juking guys into Lake Michigan with 73 overall Mike Wright. Henning is like if Devin Hester had a baby with Turbo the snail from Turbo. Kirtz is the Energizer Bunny with Captain America super-serum. Porter can dunk three basketballs at the same time.

The Grind

Northwestern presents unique obstacles for a rebuild in its academic standards for recruitment. There are going to be prospects that you’re going to miss out on because they have a low GPA that schools with less prestige will be able to recruit. You can’t simply turn Northwestern into a diploma farm — Northwestern does in fact care about academics, and the college football super nerds at EA who developed this game created a recruiting experience that mirrors the challenges faced by David Braun and his staff.

Northwestern’s academic reputation will also let you in on some recruits who prioritize an elite education on top of college football success. Every recruit in the game will have an “ideal pitch” based on 14 different factors like “playing time,” “proximity to home” and “potential to go pro.” One of those 14 factors is “academic prestige,” and you will be able to land some cool student-athletes early on in your rebuild who are drawn in by the allure of a Northwestern diploma. The game does a great job of providing an authentically difficult Northwestern experience, which should make it that much sweeter when you stumble upon an academic weapon with 99 speed who can help your squad make the leap.

In their commitment to realism, the developers at EA also added what they call “dynamic attendance” to the new game. If your team is good, fans show up and you’re treated to a rocking home field advantage. If not, the game does a pretty good job replicating “The Library” (for those new to Northwestern, that’s the unbecoming nickname earned by Northwestern’s Ryan Field for a history of meager attendance numbers).

It’s gotta be immensely rewarding to watch the stadium fill up as you build the program. Ryan Field, however dormant it became in the post-COVID era of Northwestern football, did have the potential to erupt every now and then. Take this 2013 night game against Ohio State as proof that if the product on the field reaches a certain level, Northwestern fans will show up in numbers.

In your first home game at the helm against Miami (Ohio), there will be roughly 5,000 people in the stands. But if you string together a couple winning seasons, you’ll be rewarded with a rocking Ryan Field.

The new Big Ten

Playing at Northwestern gives you access to what makes this game so great. If you take over a MAC school, you’re going to be playing road games at Waldo Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Take over the ‘Cats, and you travel to the cathedrals of college football. Penn State and Beaver Stadium. Michigan and the Big House. UCLA and the Rose Bowl. Washington and Husky Stadium on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

It’s an uphill battle to place in the top two of the 18 team conference and compete for a Big Ten title. If you try and do it with Northwestern, you’re probably going to lose a lot of games. But I would much rather lose at the ‘Shoe against Ohio State than in high school stadiums across Conference USA (I mean that’s not totally fair, but Malone Stadium at the University of Louisiana Monroe is much better fit for Friday nights).

EA Sports outdid themselves with the detail of these stadiums, and playing at Northwestern gives you the chance to experience the best venues in the sport with all the allure of a challenging rebuild. Hop on the band wagon in Evanston while there’s still time.