If I can make a wish list for the next college game, here it is:

[ConStar]

1) 105-man rosters with 85 on scholarship. I've heard some people contend that you can't manage that. I know I could manage it, and given that's what most college programs do, why not? If the goal is to be the most accurate sim in the world, go all the way.

 

2) Expanded playbooks, particularly from the shotgun set. The original game hit just before the advent of the spread-option and the only inside running play available from the shotgun is a HB draw.

 

3) The pistol offense.

 

4) Play editor. I'd love to be able to design better routes for the receivers.

 

5) Ability to add teams manually. Have a 200-team league if you feel like it. But mostly this keeps the game from becoming irrelevant when teams join/drop out of FBS.

 

6) Full set of assistant coaches, not just an OC, STC and a DC. That way when a coordinator leaves, you have the choice between searching for another coach or promoting an assistant from in-house. Again, I don't mind the extra time it would take to hire assistants in the offseason.

 

7) Big deal here: Recruiting rankings for the assistants. This is a huge, huge factor in the success or failure of real-life college programs and it's the biggest oversight in the current game, IMO.

 

8. Get the penalty system right, specifically defensive holding.

 

9) Fewer loopy scenarios at the end of games. Such as, you're up 10, the opposition is on its own 10 and manages to "break free" for a 90-yard pass play, then get the onsides, then "break free" for another 60-yard play. I probably have seen this scenario or a similar one no fewer than two dozen times since I bought the game in 2007. By comparison, I've seen such a thing happen no more than 3 times in 35+ years of watching college football. On a related note, offer the option to play prevent defense to keep crap like that from happening.

 

10) Get the stadium involved somehow. Such as, Baton Rouge is a much bigger homefield advantage than is Athens, Ohio. More people, more noise, more problems caused for the QB. Offer the ability to edit stadium seating capacity, which of course leads to more money flowing into the program every year.