No way APF had more detailed player models than the EA football games. APF looked like a hi-def xbox game. Graphics were definitely the worst part of the game.
The resolution is higher in the NCAA/Madden games, they have more details, and the lighting/stadiums/fields look alot better. They would have to downgrade everything to make this happen, then people would complain about the graphics getting worse. Not to mention they didn't build the tech this gen to be that flexible. Same reason why the animations are so limited in these games.