Kirk Herbstreit believes College Football 25 graphics will 'blow people away'

Christmas is soon coming for college football fans everywhere. The return of EA Sports College Football 25 is without a doubt one of the most anticipated moments for college football fans across the country. It’s been away for 11 long years and finally makes its triumphant return this summer. Kirk Herbstreit and a few other ESPN personalities have let everyone know they’ve spent countless hours the past few years injecting commentary and analysis into the game.

Herbstreit, like millions of others, is also fired up about the game, and in his Thursday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, shared some small tidbits that should get gamers excited.

"College Football 25 does a great job of capturing the traditions of the sport..

I think they're taking that to another level and the graphics will blow people away"@KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/leoMKBt3M4

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 22, 2024

EA has kept everything top secret, even for people who have worked with the game, like Herbstreit. All that he’s seen is the trailer that was released a few days ago.

“I’ve not seen it yet. Other than what they released the other day. But I’ve talked with them and tried to understand the difference between let’s say Madden. Everybody’s played Madden over the years. The college game. For me, the college game was always very different. It’s always done a really good job of capturing like you see here with what they released. The traditions of the sport, the uniforms, the marching bands, the stadiums, just all of it,” Herbstreit explained on Thursday.

He’s got high expectations for the graphics in EA Sports College Football 25.

“So, I think they’re taking that to another level after ten years of being out and coming back. I think the graphics will blow people away from everything I’ve been told,” the former Ohio State QB noted.

Herbstreit also noted just how much of a pioneer John Madden was in the video game industry with his Madden franchise. And it’s played a role in not only video games but how fans watch football on Saturdays and Sundays.

“I think if you go back to when Madden really started to take off. You know, John Madden got very involved in that video game of his. And I think his game really impacted how games are broadcasted. The views you get. That skycam behind the quarterback. That really was a cool look, I think, initially we saw with Madden. And I think it developed into the college game. Now we see it every Saturday and Sunday when we watch games.”

Herbstreit said EA Sports thinks the game will help CFB fans

There have never been more changes coming into a college football season in the history of the sport. Fans will have to adjust to plenty of differences and changes, and Herbstreit said the folks at EA think the game could help gamers around the country get acclimated.

“I reached out to EA because I wanted to be able to say something. Because they’ve been tight lipped on a lot of the stuff. And they continue to be. They said one of the cool things about you know this year with the 12-team College Football Playoff. That format. This game will be out months before the season actually starts,” Herbstreit explained.

“And while we’re all trying to adjust to realignment. Think about, the Pac-12’s gone. You know Stanford, Cal, and the ACC. What’s going on in the Big Ten? What’s going on in the Big 12? The SEC getting Texas and Oklahoma. There’s just so much change going on that they’re feeling that in a monumentally different year in the sport, that this game and the new rules with the bracket, who gets a bye, all those kind of things. By the time people play this game, they think it will really help them adjust to the season. And what to expect in the season just by playing the game and that type of stuff,” the ESPN football analyst noted.

Available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, EA announced gamers will have three editions to pick from. The standard base game costs $69.99. The deluxe edition allows three-day early access and a slew of perks, priced at $99.99. The MVP bundle is priced at $149.99 and includes an early release for EA Sports College Football 25 and Madden. The video game will not be offered on PC.

The franchise has been away for over a decade (July 2013) and will be officially released on July 19th.

For more information on what to expect in the game, you can find that here.

On3’s Pete Nakos also contributed to this article.