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NCAA Football 2008: At First Glance
By Ron Jumper

As is always the case, nothing turns grown men into giddy teenagers all over again faster than waiting for NCAA Football to come out each year. You can always expect that line to be there at the local electronics store waiting at about 11 PM the night before it releases, as every pre-sell copy has been purchased. There is a buzz in the air and, at times, even a little strategy or smack talk going on. And why not? It is the greatest sports video game ever made!

As for me, I don't know what age it will be before I'm not doing the exact same thing but it definetly wasn't this year. I purchased my copy the week before and made sure to get there about 11:40 to get a solid spot in line. I'm not that die hard that gets there at 10:45 to be first in line, but I was enthused for the game to finally be out none the less.

As always, SportsOverload tries to give you insight in all areas of sports. What is more pressing than being the best online gamer for NCAA Football 2008? We'd like to think nothing...

Early Prognosis

Game Play:
The game play seems to be smoother than 07. Moving players in motion, rolling out of the pocket, switching from player to player, and blocking kicks all seem just a notch better than last year's version.

Don't get me wrong, if you don't care for the updated rosters and rankings then it probably isn't worth buying. However, most of us love to get the new rosters and see what our team is ranked and how the players are rated.

Features:
From a game play perspective, none of the new features really make a drastic impact. I do like the new feature that allows you to control where the closest receiver goes, where as before it seems the receiver would always float into traffic as you scrambled for your life.

The whole "motivation" feature doesn't do much for me. It is basically the same as last year where the player's rating fluctuates depending on how well the player and the team is playing, this just brings it up on the screen while the game is in progress instead of having to check the depth chart. Overall, I could live without it...

Player Ratings:
Of course, I'm excited to see Razorback RB #5 rated a 99 overall and the best player on the game. RB #5 comes complete with 95 speed and 78 strength. There are only 2 other players rated 99 overall, USC's LT #79 and Penn State's LB #40. I'm a littled shocked to see LB #40 rated that high, as other linebackers are rated below him that I thought were equal or better.

The top 5 QBs are who we thought they would be:
QB #12, Louisville- 98
QB #15, Hawaii- 97
QB #10, USC- 94
QB #5, West Virginia- 94
QB #7, Michigan- 93

The top 5 RBs also go as planned:
RB #5, Arkansas- 99
RB #10, West Virginia- 96
RB #20, Michigan- 95
RB #41, Boise State- 93
RB #27, Rutgers- 93

The top 5 WRs offered a more interesting list:
WR #1, Cal- 96
WR #10, Vanderbilt- 95
WR #81, Rice- 94
WR #7, Hawaii- 93
WR #86, Michigan- 92

(Not a very deep year for wideouts, as this year's game is heavy in QBs and RBs. You have to dig a little deeper to find stud wideouts on this year's version. Starting with Oklahoma State's WR #12, who is 6'4" 220 and rated 92 overall. The biggest sleeper at wideout is Indiana's WR #82, as he is a whopping 6'7" 216 with 90 speed and an overall rating of 90.)


Team Rankings:
USC is just ranked head and shoulders above everyone. If you have a conscious, I would refrain from playing with them online so you can feel good about it when you win. The most overrated teams are Florida at #4 (only a B rating), Arkansas at #10 (also only a B rating), and Auburn at #13 (only a B- rating). I'm curious if it is just coincidence that all 3 teams are in the SEC or if it just worked out that way. The most underrated team would be Floirda State, as they are rated an A- but only ranked 21st.

This year offers an interesting assortment of teams for those that like to play unranked games. Georgia Tech is rated an A- overall, making them the highest rated unranked team. There is still Miami, Notre Dame, and even Hawaii who didn't make it into the rankings.

Non-BCS teams like TCU and Boise State made the polls at 22 and 23. If you like to play with small schools, Central Michigan is your team. They have stud sophomore QB #13, rated 87 overall with 76 speed. They also have QB #8, who is only rated a 76 but bosts 89 speed. They have sophomore WR #87, who is 6'5" and rated 87 with 90 speed. For those that like a challenge, building CMU into a national power is the perfect team to give it a shot with.

Overall:
I like the game play and none of the ratings were just drastically off. The features add to what was already a great game but, more importantly, don't change the game substantially. I would have to give a thumbs up and say it is a must have for all sports gamers.

Ron will be offering more insight into the recruiting and actual game play tactics such as the no-huddle, audibles, confusing the opposing offense with different looks, and the art of the roll out. Be sure to check back for more!

July 17, 2007

 

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