Everything to know about Road To Glory in EA Sports College Football 25

In one of the final deep dives of EA Sports College Football 25, the video game company gives gamers a behind-the-scenes look into Road To Glory.

One of the favorite game modes for fans outside of Dynasty Mode and TeamBuilder, Road To Glory gives fans a chance to live the college experience. Road To Glory in EA Sports College Football 25 is based on four pillars. Those include living the life of a college athlete, week-to-week experience, fast to fun and highly repayable and foundation for the future.

“When setting out to design Road to Glory, we immersed ourselves in the world of college athletes,” EA wrote in its breakdown of Road To Glory. “We spoke with current and former players, engaged with our community, and absorbed countless stories and experiences. Our goal was clear: to create an authentic, engaging, and replayable experience that captures the essence of being a college athlete.”

EA shared that players created in Road To Glory will be able to transition to Madden NFL 25 and Superstar mode. The final deep dive set to be released on College Football 25 will be centered around TeamBuilder.

Inside the recruiting journey of Road To Glory

Unlike NCAA 14, which dropped more than a decade ago, the start of Road To Glory does not take users through the high school experience. The journey now begins when gamers choose what type of recruit they want to be:

• Elite: A five-star recruit with the highest overall rating of 79, with the expectation they will play immediately.
• Blue Chip: A four-star prospect with an overall rating of 75. The recruit will contribute immediately.
• Contributor: A three-star recruit who will have a chance to get early playing time but will have to work for it.
• Underdog: The hardest starting point in Road To Glory, users will start as a two-star prospect with a 60 overall rating.

After selecting which type of recruit they will be, fans can choose the prospect’s position from quarterback, running back, wide receiver, linebacker or cornerback. According to EA, each position will come with its own challenges and gameplay styles. Each position will have its own archetype to choose from.

Similar to past versions of Road To Glory, users can customize their player’s look. And this year, gamers will select their starting mental ability. Those three options will be fan favorite, road dog or clearheaded. As the fan favorite, the mental ability is tied to academics, while road dog is centered around composure in road environments. Clearheaded is tied to leadership.

The real journey begins in an interview with a local TV reporter, where recruits will formulate their ideal pitch through the interview. Answers will determine the schools that align with goals and values. After the interview, prospects arrive at Signing Day where the big decision will be made.

Every institution will have an interest bar with information about the school and if a scholarship has been offered.

Life on campus in Road To Glory

As a player in Road To Glory, athletes will have two main activities each week. Practice is where users can earn coach trust, while the weekly agenda will determine how time is spent off the field. In an example provided by EA, athletes could focus on academics or hit the weight room. Or they could focus on building an NIL brand.

Practice is slightly different than previous college football video games. In College Football 25, users will either complete a team minigame or skill minigame. Users can also simulate the minigame.

Each week, players will have to balance football responsibilities and time management. Every week, players will have five energy points to spend. In a short week, that will drop to four energy weeks. And in a bye, up to six energy points.

Here is a breakdown of the five key activities users can spend time on outside of football:

• Academics: Two key components in academics are test readiness and GPA. Midterms occur on Week 8 and 15 in the regular season. Those midterms will impact the GPA and a GPA lower than 2.0 will make the player ineligible.
• Leadership: Spending time on team-building activities will improve leadership skills, which can help earn respect and trust from teammates and coaches. Leadership impacts how teammates progress.
• Health: Unlike Dynasty mode, players will not automatically recover from wear and tear damage when advancing to the next week. Time will need to be spent recovering.
• Training: In Road To Glory, XP will be earned by completing in-game goals. Spending time off the field on training will earn additional XP. Each time a user trains, their player will incur a small piece of wear and tear damage.
• Brand: Just like name, image and likeness in college sports, the importance of building a social media following away from football will be important to landing brand deals. As the brand level grows, players will be able to unlock NIL deal slots. Once reaching the “Influencer tier,” players will activate Road Dog ability to gain composure.

Dilemmas will also pop up in the game, according to EA’s release about Road To Glory. It could mean attending an off-campus party or interacting with teammates, advisors or other students.

“There might also be situations where you are playing poorly and the fans are just letting you have it,” EA wrote in the blog. “You’ll have to make a decision on how you want to respond. Do you want to take the high road? Criticize them? Make a burner and be your biggest hype man?”

What will NIL look like?

NIL deal slots are determined by brand level. The higher the brand level, the more NIL deal slots. Deals come with the duration of the team they will run and the energy cost associated. The endorsement deals can improve in-game attributes, increase your number of followers, boost coach trust or improve health.

“An example NIL deal you could earn is with a physical therapy center,” EA wrote in its post on NIL deals. “As a part of their deal, they want you to participate in a regional commercial shoot that will air during the next month. While you won’t physically pose for the camera this year in Road to Glory, the deal will cost you two energy upfront. In return, they will give you free physical therapy sessions which will give you immediate wear and tear recovery and improve your health. By taking the deal and getting the health recovery, this will enable you to do other things during your weekly agenda time management.”

Gameplay in Road To Glory

Coach trust will be integral to playing time in Road To Glory, just like in past college football video games Teammates will also earn coach trust on their performances and actions. Once a player has accumulated enough coach trust, they can see where they are on the depth chart and trigger a position battle. In College Football 25, users must win two out of three position-specific minigames. If players lose the battle, they’ll need to climb back up over the next few weeks.

Gamers can upgrade their player at any time, with XP earned through gameplay and training. Players can upgrade attributes by spending skill points to upgrade an entire skill group.

“Unlike your Dynasty players, your Road to Glory character has the unique opportunity to progress their mental abilities by completing in-game objectives,” according to EA’s blog. “Each time you complete an objective, the corresponding ability will upgrade to the next tier, up to a maximum level of platinum.”

Within gameplay, players will initially have access to limited playcalling. On the play selection screen, they will only see one play that the coach has called. As coach trust increases, players will be able to change the play.

“In the world of RTG, the transfer portal is just as pivotal as it is in real life,” EA wrote in its blog. “At the end of each season, your player will face a crucial decision: stay loyal to their current school or enter the transfer portal to explore new opportunities. This choice isn’t just a simple yes or no—it’s a gateway to new adventures and possibilities based on your player’s performance throughout the season.”