After a decade-long hiatus, EA Sports' college football franchise has returned to shelves and consoles across the country. College Football 25's premium edition released on July 16, with a July 19 date for standard copies.
Whether you've already started dynasties or roads to glory, or are waiting to kick off, here's a breakdown of what Northwestern looks like in the game's initial version. This will be a breakdown of Northwestern as a program with only general insights into gameplay.
What Northwestern looks like: Let's start with literally what the Wildcats look like in the game. Teams were able to upload six variations for their helmets.
I was very surprised but the black-and-gold gothic uniforms were not included.
There are six templates, one for each helmet, but the components can be mixed and matched with any available jersey, pants or socks. Northwestern's three options for the rest of its uniform are purple, white and black.
It's very surreal in the context of its total demolition and ongoing construction, but the Wildcats take the field at an immaculately designed Ryan Field. There's a typical smattering of generated weather as you play games and seasons but I haven't encountered anything more extreme than snow on the ground for the November games.
Northwestern's game day includes a few traditions and touchstones. Players run out of the tunnel as the band plays after tapping the Trust Yourself sign. The Wildcat statue and bell in the north end zone of Ryan Field are not in gameplay, and, unfortunately, neither is Moving the Chains (not even a whoosh).
The in-game band plays the fight song after each first down and you can see Evanston Hospital over the east stands of Ryan Field. The outline of Welsh-Ryan Arena looms behind the north end zone, but the actual name of the arena is not included, only a generic Arena a line above an even more generic Memorial Hall.
Northwestern has three listed rivals: Illinois, Michigan and Notre Dame. There is a special name and logo for the "Battle for the Land of Lincoln" in Play Now and Dynasty. Notre Dame gets a logo-free description as the Battle for the Shillelagh.
In a cool touch, the home screen for players who select Northwestern as their favorite program doesn't just have AJ Henning, Willie the Wildcat and the band. It also features tickets to Northwestern's electric 54-51 win over the Wolverines in 2000.
The game does have one error that I hope is soon fixed. Michigan is listed as a generic rivalry game, Michigan/Northwestern, rather than playing for the George Jewett Trophy. It's understandable in such an immense undertaking to build this from scratch that a new and esoteric rivalry would fall through cracks.
But, given the significance and importance of remembering Jewett, the first Black player for both programs, I hope the name and logo is added soon to an update or in next year's game.
Editor’s note: since publication, Xander Mueller has had his rating adjusted to an 87 and is now the highest-rated player on roster.
How Northwestern's roster plays: The EA analysts are not high on the Wildcats on paper, and their overall base rating of 80 is tied with Michigan State for second-worst in the Big Ten. (Sorry to Maryland, who is last) However, the Wildcats are a blast on the field.
Quarterback Mike Wright, wide receiver AJ Henning and wide receiver Bryce Kirtz all have over a 90-rated speed. It's plain fun to play fast and throw deep on offense with the Wildcats. I sent Henning or Kirtz deep every time I may or may not have backed myself into third and long, it's magic.
In the backfield, running backs Cam Porter and Joseph Himon II are lightning and thunder in the right player's hands. Himon is electric with a 90+ speed of his own, and Porter can truck through almost any first tackler.
I personally run a spread option offense, and the Wildcats are a match made in heaven with Wright and his weapons. There's also more running depth in the quarterback room with Jack Lausch or, if you're more of a pocket passer, with sixth-year senior Ryan Hilinski. Both are tied with Wright at a 73 overall and are more than capable of subbing in.
The offensive line is solid with four starters at 78-79, and a 73 at right guard (Nick Herzog), though a few potentially key contributors seem to have opted out. Up front on defense, the ratings, and the renderings, are a bit off target.
The game doesn't capture well what was the foundation of an elite Northwestern defense in the home stretch of 2023. There is parity that reflects the depth in those rooms, but no defensive lineman rates higher than a 76 (Carmine Bastone).
Similar for the linebacking corps. Xander Mueller, who many thought would be the team's top rated player, is just an 83 after 100 tackles in 2023. The secondary is this team's strength and high ratings abound. EA has found a middle ground between Madden, where 18 players are rated 97+, and FIFA, where Kylian Mbappé leads the game as a 91.
No one in College Football 25 is above a 96 but even on a lower-rated Power Four team like Northwestern, you'll have a handful of strong players in the mid-80s.
The Wildcats have their own playbook on offense, just like every team in the game, and seem to mirror Mike Bajakian's old system. There will be roster updates throughout the season based on player performance, but I expect you'll have to wait for next year to experience the Zach Lujan system in earnest.
The defense plays out of a base 4-3 with nickel and dime packages, but no multiple defense to start.
How Northwestern plays in game modes: The game has been out for only a few days so I have not sampled Road to Glory. I headed straight for Dynasty after a get-right game in Play Now.
In Dynasty, you can start with a "generic" head coach that's definitely not modeled on David Braun. The totally random coach is rated a B- with motivator traits and a historic pipeline to Minnesota. Good to see some parts of the pre-NIL games' magic is living on.
You can also start from scratch, creating your own coach and picking one of three traits: motivator, recruiter and tactician. I started with recruiter, of course, and it's possible to get the Wildcats to a high level pretty quickly if you target in-state or pipeline prospects first.
Top recruits can be locked out with "dealbreakers", often conference prestige or pro potential. Northwestern's pro potential grade is low so don't hold your breath for any five stars in Year 1, but the Big Ten is rated extremely high, so the they have a foot in the door for a surprising amount of top-level talent.
Also, a solid chunk of those grades are variable by position or performance: playing style, playing time, proximity to home, coach stability and coach prestige. There are no difficulty settings for recruiting, it stays constant.
It takes a considerable bit of work to start competitively targeting four or five stars by Year 2 but, all in all, the Wildcats turned out pretty strong. They've got a good home state advantage with Illinois/Chicago, and there are specific hard and soft sells you can use that line up Academic Prestige, Conference Prestige and Proximity to Home together and utilize Northwestern's value proposition.
Anyone who's been in Walter Athletics Center can tell you that a B+ is way too low, but those same people might admit in a moment of honesty that a B for the old Ryan Field's stadium atmosphere is a touch generous.
On that note, there is no way that I know of to construct a new stadium or modify an existing one to simulate either Northwestern's temporary lakeside venue or the new Ryan Field in the game.
Who's in the game: One concern for fans were the additions of key incoming transfers and rising freshmen. It's a mixed bag, at least for the Wildcats. Wright has already been mentioned, he's in there. So is transfer tackle Cooper Lovelace and so is true freshman wide receiver Carson Grove, who makes an excellent return man once AJ Henning graduates.
There are some Northwestern players that are not in the game, either through a decision to opt out or because teams carry upwards of 100 players at any given moment and the game caps rosters at 85.
Here is a list of players from Northwestern's public spring roster, incoming Class of 2024 and publicly announced transfers that are not on roster in the game's base version.
That's my initial read on the Wildcats in the game. It's awesome that the sport has this outlet again and that players are being rewarded for their place in it.
I don't think any recruits will be making their commitments solely on how their potential teams play on a console. But, I can tell you that in a world where pros from the UFC to NFL try things out in their video games, it helps Northwestern to be involved and that they've got a roster filled with fun players across almost any play style.
