It’s been years since we last had a college football video game. For some people, this will be their first time playing one since NCAA 14. For others, this will be the first one they’ve ever played.
RELATED: A quick review of CFB 25 after playing the game for way too long already.
That means that when many people finally get the game in hand on Friday, they won’t know what they’re doing unless they’ve been playing Madden for all these years. Even then, some of the controls in this game are completely different from what we see on Madden.
You might fall into that bucket. If you do, you’ll need to take a crash course on how to play the game. You’re in luck.
College Football 25 features a ton of training minigames for you to play that will help you get the game’s controls down. Here, we’ve outlined 10 essential ones that will help you figure things out.
READ MORE: The For The Win staff on the teams they’ll be using in CFB 25.
The pocket presence game is a great way to learn how to navigate the pocket while avoiding the rush. You hit the targets with the ball as you dodge oncoming balloons that are supposed to represent the pass rush. If you’re looking for more of a challenge, there’s an All Out Blitz mode to this game that is super tough.
This one can get rough. You’ve got to scramble around for a set time limit and avoid the rush until the passing icons come up. Then you can finally throw the ball. If you hit different markers, you get more points. It’s fun, to be sure, but it’s definitely challenging.
Target Passing took me a while to get. With this one, you throw the ball to different receivers on the field while trying to hit different targets in the air. With this drill you’ll be able to master the different throwing styles and angles available to you.
This is the basic rushing drill available to you. You’re a running back and you’ve got to follow your blocks to run for a touchdown. It’s as simple as that. This drill is great for learning blocking schemes and learning how to shake defenders.
The option drill is SUPER important on this game given all of the option plays and RPO action available in most playbooks. You’ll learn how to read the defense here on option plays as well as the difference between an aggressive and regular pitch.
Kicking on this game is kind of hard.This field goal accuracy is super helpful for figuring out how to aim and add the perfect amount of power to your kicks. There’s a Hurricane Season mode that makes it even harder.
Everything I said about kicking above also applies to punting. Special teams is not easy on this game.
This drill is essential for all the folks out there who like to play on the defensive line. You’ve got to beat blockers, run past cones and get to the quarterback within a set amount of time. The game shows you the different rush moves available to you as you go.
Wide receiver battle felt kind of unimportant to me because you’ll rarely actually line up at wide receiver unless you create one in Road to Glory mode. It does show you how to run routes and make aggressive catches, though, which is big for folks who like to switch onto receivers when the ball is in the air.
This minigame was probably the most fun one for me. The DB Battle drill is basically the opposite of the WR Battle drill — you line up as the defensive back and try to get a stop. The game shows you the controls, but it’s on you to shadow your target and make a play.
