If you're still playing NCAA 14, or even if you're on a break but still love it, and feel like sharing why after all this time, step right up. I mean, we now know most everything there is to know about the game. I have some minor niggles, such as the way the coach system rewards breaking records and things of that nature, that's lame.
Bad teams winning, then having the BCS system ignore their horrible schedule strength, that is pretty lame - but fixable with the ability to sim them a loss if so inclined (never actually done this yet, wish I had averted the Jordan Lynch/NIU title in year 1 of my chise).
It's almost impossible to lose the time of possession battle (I simply stopped reporting this in my dynasty).
In certain games it seems obvious the cpu is reading your play calls with what they set up to defend or attack what you're doing...
But on to why I love it.
More than any other NCAA football game, when I start up a game I feel like anything could happen. I could win a game on a punt return, or lose a game on an ill-timed penalty. Or have a ball bounce off my player's helmet, into the waiting hands of the other team for a huge touchdown. Any of these things might have been possible in a previous NCAA game, however these impressive moments seem to happen more often in this game. Or more accurately, things that surprise me happen more often. Things I never saw coming and make my jaw drop as we grasped victory from the jaws of defeat, or vice versa in a way I'd never seen previously.
I played a game that went to OT one time in which I forced three fumbles in the game (randomly, not the settings), recovered none of the three, and lost by the slimmest of margins.
I won a game where I was down significantly and came back, with the comeback touched off by a 70+ yard touchdown catch and run by my TE, the slowest skill player on the field.
I've seen times where my WR makes a great cut, and I think he's going to make an easy long gain and somebody flies in and tips it away. Or times where there was blanket coverage, I accidentally threw it up for grabs, and the defender just seemed to lose track of it. In other games it was always the same, even down to the leap and bat animatino, how the CPU would perfectly defend any deep pass that wasn't wide open (unless you rocket jump which I've rarely been able to pull off).
I've struggled to get any sacks in a game or even 2-3 games in a row and then gotten 8 very natural looking sacks in a game later on in the season. I've seen players come untouched right up the middle for a sack, and countless examples of the perfect throwing pocket in other games. It doesn't seem so rote in this game, so pre-ordained that the game will play a certain way, and allow you to win or lose a certain way.
One time my WR made 6 pancakes in a game and sprung two large runs pretty much by himself; I went back and found all the pancakes just for fun on my recording.
The modern offense with the fast quarterbacks provides a challenge as they usually keep your guys on the field and it can be difficult to stop a combo of a fast QB and good HB. My rushing yards allowed aren't as embarrassingly low as in any other NCAA game I've played.
There are games when 'robo qb' almost needs to be pulled out of the vernacular drawer but then I face a superior team in a game I think I'm going to lose and their QB throws 3 INT, takes 7 sacks and gives up a fumble and we blow the team out.
I had a close game where one of my players fumbled, only to be ripped himself and get the fumble recovered by my QB, who was just dawdling around like an idiot until the ball popped loose. Those types of plays feel like real football when they stun you like that.
I've won games in overtime where I could only kick a field goal, and then intercepted the other team in the back of the end zone to seal it.
The very best thing about this game for me is that I don't need to turn on crazy sliders to get a good game. I simply don't call those really good plays any more often than I call the bad ones. For me, using the entire playbook gives me just the right amount of challenge, and there's room to grow on the difficulty if I need it.
I hope we get an NCAA game within the near future but I think I'll be playing this one for a long time regardless, as any new NCAA game would need a couple years to ramp up to being really good and feature laden.
Bad teams winning, then having the BCS system ignore their horrible schedule strength, that is pretty lame - but fixable with the ability to sim them a loss if so inclined (never actually done this yet, wish I had averted the Jordan Lynch/NIU title in year 1 of my chise).
It's almost impossible to lose the time of possession battle (I simply stopped reporting this in my dynasty).
In certain games it seems obvious the cpu is reading your play calls with what they set up to defend or attack what you're doing...
But on to why I love it.
More than any other NCAA football game, when I start up a game I feel like anything could happen. I could win a game on a punt return, or lose a game on an ill-timed penalty. Or have a ball bounce off my player's helmet, into the waiting hands of the other team for a huge touchdown. Any of these things might have been possible in a previous NCAA game, however these impressive moments seem to happen more often in this game. Or more accurately, things that surprise me happen more often. Things I never saw coming and make my jaw drop as we grasped victory from the jaws of defeat, or vice versa in a way I'd never seen previously.
I played a game that went to OT one time in which I forced three fumbles in the game (randomly, not the settings), recovered none of the three, and lost by the slimmest of margins.
I won a game where I was down significantly and came back, with the comeback touched off by a 70+ yard touchdown catch and run by my TE, the slowest skill player on the field.
I've seen times where my WR makes a great cut, and I think he's going to make an easy long gain and somebody flies in and tips it away. Or times where there was blanket coverage, I accidentally threw it up for grabs, and the defender just seemed to lose track of it. In other games it was always the same, even down to the leap and bat animatino, how the CPU would perfectly defend any deep pass that wasn't wide open (unless you rocket jump which I've rarely been able to pull off).
I've struggled to get any sacks in a game or even 2-3 games in a row and then gotten 8 very natural looking sacks in a game later on in the season. I've seen players come untouched right up the middle for a sack, and countless examples of the perfect throwing pocket in other games. It doesn't seem so rote in this game, so pre-ordained that the game will play a certain way, and allow you to win or lose a certain way.
One time my WR made 6 pancakes in a game and sprung two large runs pretty much by himself; I went back and found all the pancakes just for fun on my recording.
The modern offense with the fast quarterbacks provides a challenge as they usually keep your guys on the field and it can be difficult to stop a combo of a fast QB and good HB. My rushing yards allowed aren't as embarrassingly low as in any other NCAA game I've played.
There are games when 'robo qb' almost needs to be pulled out of the vernacular drawer but then I face a superior team in a game I think I'm going to lose and their QB throws 3 INT, takes 7 sacks and gives up a fumble and we blow the team out.
I had a close game where one of my players fumbled, only to be ripped himself and get the fumble recovered by my QB, who was just dawdling around like an idiot until the ball popped loose. Those types of plays feel like real football when they stun you like that.
I've won games in overtime where I could only kick a field goal, and then intercepted the other team in the back of the end zone to seal it.
The very best thing about this game for me is that I don't need to turn on crazy sliders to get a good game. I simply don't call those really good plays any more often than I call the bad ones. For me, using the entire playbook gives me just the right amount of challenge, and there's room to grow on the difficulty if I need it.
I hope we get an NCAA game within the near future but I think I'll be playing this one for a long time regardless, as any new NCAA game would need a couple years to ramp up to being really good and feature laden.
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