Early Look at Iowa in EA Sports College Football 26: First Impressions

Getting My Hands on EA Sports College Football 26: First Impressions with the Hawkeyes

Earlier this week, EA Sports College Football 26 officially hit the shelves—at a premium price for early access. The standard edition dropped on Thursday, but I couldn’t resist and decided to grab the early version. I went back and forth on it—literally sitting on my couch post-workout debating the decision. I initially talked myself out of it… until a couple of tweets pushed me over the edge. Yeah, I caved.

My first move? Jump straight into Road to Glory. I’ve always been an RTG guy growing up—more than Dynasty, anyway—but over the years, especially while playing NCAA Football 14 in college and CFB 25 last year, I’ve leaned more toward Dynasty mode.

This year, I’m doing both. I started a new Dynasty with Vanderbilt and created a five-star RTG quarterback from Solon who chose to stay home and commit to Iowa. I won’t dive too deep into the RTG storyline yet, but I will say this: playing on Heisman difficulty is brutal. I gave it a solid go for a year but ultimately dropped it down a notch. Call it a skill issue if you want—but I’d love to see others try playing at that level. It’s not easy.

After that, I moved into some exhibition games using Iowa’s current roster. I’ll likely kick off a full Hawkeye Dynasty soon. Vanderbilt’s 500 recruiting points make it nearly impossible to compete in the SEC. I’m assuming Iowa has more to work with, and that alone should make the experience smoother.

I played games against Iowa State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Nebraska, going 4-0 on All-American difficulty:

• vs. Iowa State: W, 31-10

• vs. Wisconsin: W, 28-7

• vs. Minnesota: W, 41-3

• vs. Nebraska: W, 24-13

Early Takeaways Playing as Iowa

I wasn’t sure if I’d write this, but I was inspired by Mike Schaefer from Husker247. It’s that point in the offseason when you get a little creative with content, and let’s face it—EA Sports College Football is a huge part of the culture. Here are my gameplay impressions so far:

Offense

• Quarterback Play: Iowa’s passing game isn’t elite, but it’s manageable—especially with Mark Gronowski under center. He’s a big upgrade when it comes to on-the-run throws and avoiding overthrows. Compared to Cade McNamara or Brendan Sullivan, the offense opens up more with Gronowski’s mobility and ability to make off-script plays. Hank Brown’s arm strength also stands out.

• Wide Receivers: Jacob Gill is clearly WR1, with great speed and the highest rating. Seth Anderson is solid, and Reece Vander Zee came down with a couple of tough jump balls. Still, it’s hard to create separation consistently—definitely no elite WR threats like other programs have. Wetjen’s change of direction is insane, and I like using Anderson, Wetjen, and Brevin Doll on drag routes.

• Dropped Passes: One major issue—tons of dropped passes. Any contact from a defender and the ball’s coming out. Creating separation feels impossible without a mobile QB.

• Tight Ends: Zach Ortwerth quietly made several clutch catches for me.

• Running Backs: Kamari Moulton impressed more than Kaleb Johnson did in CFB 25. He has great burst, power, and is tough to bring down. I often ran four or five times in a row and consistently picked up 6-12 yards. The offensive line deserves some credit too—some huge holes were opened. Brevin Doll has elite speed, and Terrell Washington Jr. is electric. One downside: fumbles seem more frequent this year.

Defense

• Defensive Line: Not all the expected names are in the game, but Jeremiah Pittman and Max Llewellyn were disruptive. Pittman forced 3–4 fumbles alone.

• Linebackers: Inconsistent results. Jayden Montgomery logged significant snaps, but I didn’t get much production out of the LB group overall.

• Secondary: Xavier Nwankpa had a couple of interceptions. Deshaun Lee consistently broke up deep balls. Some notable freshmen are missing, including Burke Gautcher, Carson Cooney, and Iose Epenesa.

Special Teams & Presentation

• Kickers: Drew Stevens and Rhys Dakin both have strong legs.

• Return Game: Wetjen is electric in space thanks to his agility, though his top-end speed wasn’t quite as high as expected.

• Atmosphere: EA nailed it. The presentation captures the Iowa vibe perfectly—references to the transfer portal additions, preseason expectations, and even The Wave with Pat Green’s song. The commentary adds to the immersion.

All in all, it’s great to see the College Football series back with momentum. It feels like EA finally did some real homework on teams and personalities. I’ll have more thoughts once I get deeper into Dynasty mode with Iowa, but for now, this is a solid start—and I’m already hooked.