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THE SPORTS JOURNAL | NEWS FILE |
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PREVIEWS
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NCAA 2005 Preview
Posted on Sunday, June 27 2004
| PREVIEW INFORMATION |
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By
Staff
"I hope you all have great college football seasons, in real life as well as on the virtual gridiron." |
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Publisher
: EA Sports
Developer : EA Sports
Release Date : July 2004
Genre : Football |
Platform :    |
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By BrutuStrength
Download the PDF version of this preview
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The 4th of July is just around the corner, and you know what that means: backyard barbeques, family vacations, parties with friends, firework shows, and just over 1 more week until the newest iteration of the NCAA football videogame is released by EA Sports. It’s a wonderful thing that we are all provided such a holiday so that we are able to spend so much quality time with our families a week prior to ignoring them for our own personal delight. Once again, NCAA 2005 is looking to build off of its previous successes this year. I’m sure that many of you have read other previews and are already familiar with many of the new features. Sadly, I do not have any new news to release or tell anyone. What I have done, though, is break down many of the new features and explain how they might impact this esteemed videogame franchise. So, without any further ado, here’s my interpretation of what’s in store for us, the hardcore college football videogame fanatics:
ROSTER MANAGEMENT & RECRUITING
Just to prove to everyone that EA does listen to their customers (at least occasionally,) they have implemented 2 of the most important changes to date: expanded roster sizes and the ability to change player positions throughout a dynasty.
Roster sizes were previously limited to 55 players per team, and this year they have been reported to range from between 70 and 75. My guess (hope) as to why the roster sizes have been reported at both numbers is that the default rosters will contain 70 players per team, but will hold up to 75 per team including created players and new recruits. To be clear, I don’t have any inside information that this is factual, rather it is my own hypothesis regarding the matter. Regardless, the 15 to 20 additional roster spaces will be a welcome addition, and will allow dynasty players to keep upperclassmen while providing time to develop their replacements.
Changing player positions has also been sorely needed, especially since so many players change positions throughout their collegiate careers. A practical example of this includes WR/DB Chris Gamble. He was recruited and played as a WR before switching to CB, a position where he recently became a first-round draft pick in the NFL. This feature will also allow dynasty players to recruit “athletes” that can be tried at various positions to see where they will best fit. A prime example of this includes a recent stud recruit for Louisville, Michael Bush, who was recruited by many major programs to play at the QB, RB, WR, and DB positions. He made an instant impact as a freshman last year at the RB and WR positions and will likely be playing at those positions this year.
Recruiting goes even deeper this year by adding in a “pipeline” feature. “Pipelining” refers to when a school is able to recruit out-of-state players from a specific state with consistent and relative ease. For instance, Michigan’s football program consistently recruits well despite not having oodles of great in-state talent. They annually turn to talent-rich states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and California to bring in their future stars. They have been extremely successful in recruiting from schools in Northern Ohio for a longtime, having drawn such stars as Rob Lytle, Elvis Grbac, Desmond Howard, and Charles Woodson. Such a trend demonstrates a pipeline that Michigan has been able to maintain, at least to some degree, spanning several decades. How this feature will work in the game is still unknown at this time. Speculation ranges from having more recruits from a state interested in a piplined school, to even lowering the amount of recruiting points that might be needed to recruit them.
Student transfers have now made their way into this year’s game as well. Although an incoming transfer might provide some instant help to your team, an outgoing transfer of a stud recruit might leave you sobbing. That’s right, in addition to the players that want to leave early to go to the NFL, you’ll now need to focus on keeping your underclassmen happy by making sure they get sufficient playing time. The balance of splitting playing time between upperclassmen and budding stars will be a key factor this year, especially with the aforementioned roster expansion. If you can’t keep them happy during the season, then you might need to talk them into staying at the end of the year instead of transferring, and this will cost you valuable points from your recruiting budget.
Speaking of budgets, dynasty mode will include punishment budgets. These points will be used to punish team players that commit various violations, such as skipping classes or practices. As the coach, you’ll have to decide whether you want to bench your star RB for his violations and for how long. It seems as though a player can be suspended for as little as a quarter or as long as a season. The tricky part with this is two-fold: longer suspensions use more punishment points from your finite supply and a lack of discipline will cause your program to become corrupt. If your program exceeds a certain threshold of corruption, the NCAA will start investigating the program. The NCAA has the ability to revoke scholarships, limit TV appearances, and restrict bowl games. It has been rumored that the NCAA can even administer the dreaded “death penalty.”
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