The College Football 26 Gameplay Trailer has arrived, revealing over 2,800 new plays, new player archetypes, rebalanced abilities, and much more to improve player experience. With over 300 real College Football coaches coming to the game, College Football 26's playbook underwent a massive expansion. Without further ado, let's take a look at the Reveal!
College Football 26 Gameplay Adds 2,800+ Plays, New Player Types, Abilities, & More
The College Football 26 Gameplay Reveal confirmed the addition of:
- Over 300 real coaches
- Over 2,800 new plays
- 45+ new formations
- 10 new Player Archetypes
From new option types, motion types, and bizarre plays from the 2024-2025 season make their way into the game. It not only ups the authenticity, but adds more ways for the player to experiment. Thanks to the inclusion of real coaches, playbooks have become better than ever.
The developers even added unique signature looks from last season. Penn State's Shotgun Gate, Rice's Pistol Wingback, and more will be available for use. But keep in mind that your opponent may have access to these kinds of plays, too.
Additionally, College Football 26 will feature 10 new player archetypes along with rebalanced abilities (84 total). Like last year, each ability has their own ranking from bronze to platinum, indicating how good a player is with that skill. Plus, CFB 26 adds a new Heisman Tier, which can be unlocked in the middle of game.
Furthermore, abilities now scale with performance. If someone is playing well, their physical abilities receive a big boost, making them that much better. And if a player already possesses a platinum ability, they'll be upgraded to a Heisman Tier. This creates overpowered moments where your player can seemingly do the impossible.
Of course all of these new plays affect defense just as much as the offense. And speaking of the defense…
College Football 26 Reveal Shows New Defensive Formations & Tackle Types
College Football 26 goes all in on defense, adding new defensive formations, tackle types, and much more.
Article Continues BelowAll of the new College Football 26 Defensive Formations include:
- 3-4 Tite
- 3-3-5 Flex
- Nickel Single Mug & Nickel 2-4 Single Mug
- Nickel Load & Nickel 2-4 Load
- Nick 2-4 & Nickel 2-4 Double Mug
- Dime Load Weak (formerly Dime Load Sugar Weak)
Of course, you'll be able to use tons of new plays with these formations, as well as returning ones from CFB 26. However, no matter what formation you choose, your players still need to know how to tackle.
College Football 26 adds or makes improvements to the following tackle types:
- Wrap Catch Tackle
- Controlled Lunges while standing upright
- New Un-prepped Hit Stick Animations
Furthermore, EA Sports made several core improvements to the tackling. But at the same time, they wanted to make sure runners still had their own ways of making plays. They've improved trucking & stiff arm mechanics as well as player momentum to give players more control. The same applies for post-tackle movements.
Lastly, CFB 26 adds many features we've heard about from the new Madden 26 Gameplay Deep Dive. From Custom Zones, to the new leverage system, to Block Steering, CFB 26 features all the latest mechanics from EA Sports. Therefore, feel free to check out that deep dive as well to learn more about these systems.
Overall, that includes the College Football 26 details on new plays, player archetypes, and more. But this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the developers released a lot during the gameplay reveal. Furthermore, the developers plan on releasing more deep dives as we approach the launch date.
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