It’s in the game: Jackson, Illini West catch EA SPORTS College Football 25 fever

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Like millions of other football fans, Roan Jackson anxiously awaited a new college football video game.

“I had a PlayStation 3 and I played NCAA Football 14 for the last five years,” Jackson said. “One of my friends had NCAA 14, and that’s how I started playing. I got it for my PS3 off of Ebay. I’m just a big college football guy.”

The Illini West senior defensive end no longer has to wait to relive those childhood memories. EA Orlando officially released EA SPORTS College Football 25 — the first college football video game since NCAA Football 14 — on July 19 after an early release on July 16.

Jackson has to get the proper gaming console first before he can purchase the game for himself though. The game is only available on PlayStation 5 and XBox Series X.

“I have a PC so I can’t play the new game right now, but I’m buying an XBox just so I can play it,” Jackson said. “I switched from my PS3 to my PC thinking I would never have to switch again. Then I hear College Football is coming out all year. I could have bought a console way before. I just thought they would have it on PC but nope.”

For now, Jackson has to go to his friends’ houses to play the game, but he’ll have that XBox soon.

“It should be sometime next week when I get my paycheck,” Jackson said.

The fact that Jackson is buying a new console just so he can play this game is evidence of the game’s appeal. According to an article in the Sports Business Journal, the game drew 5 million players and earned $500 million in sales during its first week on the market.

“Everything feels real, like the wear and tear,” Jackson said. “It’s nice to feel like you’re a coach, like you have your own team.”

Jackson got to play the game against his real-life teammates and coach during the Chargers’ College Football 25 tournament on July 16, which Illini West coach Justin Calvin — a big college football fan himself — helped organize.

“During camp, I’ve been trying to do different team-building activities,” Calvin said. “Those guys have been talking about this game since like May. It came out the first day of camp. We talked to our esports coach (Chris Greenhalge aka “Mr. G”) and got it set up.”

As fate would have it, Jackson and Calvin squared off in the second round with Jackson using Mizzou, which just happens to be Calvin’s favorite team. This team selection only happened after Chargers center Johnny Ravenscraft beat Jackson to the sign-up sheet in the weight room and picked Oregon, Jackson’s favorite team.

“When I was little, I had an Oregon bedsheet, my pillows were Oregon. I’m a big Oregon fan,” Jackson said. “I have a sweatshirt, I have a lanyard, and he took Oregon. I took Mizzou because I knew it was Calvin’s team. I wanted to at least beat someone with Mizzou and rub it in his face.”

Calvin also lost out on Mizzou and got stuck with Oklahoma State because he decided to let the players choose their teams first.

“I picked last because I had too much confidence in myself,” Calvin said.

That confidence nearly paid off for Calvin in his matchup with Jackson, but a late-game turnover shifted the nip-and-tuck affair in Jackson’s favor.

“We did three minute quarters, so we basically got the ball every quarter and it was someone else’s ball,” Jackson said. “I scored first, and I was rubbing it in his face. He scored back. Later it was 14-14, and he threw an interception across the middle. My Mizzou safety blended in with the logo and (Calvin) didn’t see him. I intercepted it, then I went down the field. It was a 4th and 4, and I needed a score to win the game.”

Jackson’s pre-snap adjustment on that 4th and 4 proved pivotal.

“I used one of the options they have now, a shift line protection — half slide, full slide,” Jackson said. “He liked to blitz the whole time because the Mizzou offensive line wasn’t doing so hot. I was getting torn up by those blitzes. I could see his outside linebacker was blitzing, so I moved the half slide to that side. My running back took on his middle linebacker. Luckily my running back held. I threw it to my tight end, got the conversion, and I went down and scored. It was fun to rub it in his face afterward, too.”

Jackson’s audible is evidence of one of Calvin’s favorite parts of the video game.

“The kids can see some of the stuff we do in a game,” Calvin said. “It might sound silly, but at least it shows them what a Cover 4 is, what a Cover 2 is. They can see it in the game and hopefully translate it when we get to the football field.”

Jackson also noted the teaching opportunities present within the video game.

“Some people know more football than others,” Jackson said. “Letting other kids know about certain things in the game is nice to do, like letting certain kids know how to read things or knowing what’s the best option or how to run a two-minute drill.”

Jackson said that football IQ is crucial to success in College Football 25.

“You see Twitch streamers who play Madden and kind of cheat the game, but this college football game is all about knowing ball,” Jackson said. “If you know ball, you can succeed, but if you don’t know ball, you’re going to be very bad. I’ve seen some people who think they’re really good at Madden, and they come to College Football, and they’re not very good.”

One of the game’s most popular modes — Dynasty Mode — allows the user to take over a team and try to lead them to a national championship while controlling the ins and outs of the program along the way.

Jackson took the Tulane Green Wave to the promised land in NCAA Football 14 in the fourth season of his dynasty.

This begs the question: What will Jackson’s team of choice be in College Football 25?

“The UTEP Miners,” Jackson said. “I love their colors. They kind of remind me of our colors. And I just like the logo. They’re in the Sun Belt, they haven’t really had any good seasons, and they just got a new coach. It was something I just picked.”

Jackson might even get to play as himself…kind of.

“Calvin made Illini West,” Jackson said. “I’ll probably pop in there a little bit, play with myself hopefully, create myself, put me in there.”

This begs another question: What would Jackson’s overall rating be on a scale of 0 to 99 if he was in the game?

“I would like to say 99, but no,” Jackson said.

Then he paused for a moment.

“I would say 83.”

Jackson advised future College Football 25 players to prepare for some late nights.

“You’ll probably stay up longer than you’ve ever stayed up in your life,” Jackson said. “It’s just so fun.”