NCAA Football 09 Impressions: When Cows and Gators Collide

EA Sports just dropped a NCAA Football 09 demo into the laps of unsuspecting Xbox Livers and PSNers. We're jockstrapping it on and taking the field for this year's roster update reimagining of the game played with the skin of pigs. Yum!



The demo includes four total teams to choose from in two different modes—Play Now and Mascot Mash Up. I chose the Texas Longhorns and took on the Florida Gators in the Mascot Mash Up mode first.

I've heard of Snakes on a Plane, but gators on a football field? Okay, fine. I'll go along with it. I mean, who hasn't seen a gator in a UF warm-up uniform? It's actually pretty funny watching animals go at it. Sort of like the Discovery Channel meets the UFC.

The mechanics are basically the same as the football games you've played before. Pick a play, set up your offense, run the play, and hope to score a touchdown. There are a few differences, however...


The mascots have a few different juke maneuvers. Instead of sliding to the left or right, they do a mid-air cartwheel. If your opponent gets to you while you're airborne though, you're in for a good bruising and potentially a fumble.

As you can see, I scored a late touchdown to take the win. As I was driving toward the endzone, the crowd was really getting on my back. I was missing receivers with regularity and the defense pounded through my front line fairly easily. If it wasn't for a fourth down, 30-yard completion, I would've been caput. Okay, we're done with this game. Notice the crowd in the stadium—looks like EA has tried to fill in the stands so that it doesn't look like there are tens of thousands of cardboard cut-outs cheering you on. Off to find some normal human players now...

Ah, nice. The LSU Tigers vs. the Ohio State Buckeyes—rematch of the 2008 BCS title game.

Here's the ol' playbook screen. Pretty much what you'd expect from it. Depending on the team you have selected, you'll have an array of run and pass plays to choose from and defenses to set-up.

One neat-o new feature is the Composure Meter. If you get intercepted, a quiz box pops up asking you what defense you think your opponent had. If you get it right, your composure increases, meaning more accurate passing throws next time around. If you guess the wrong answer, your composure meter decreases. As your meter continues to fall, any plays that you may have chosen will not appear correctly on your screen. Before the snap, receivers will not have their corresponding button over their heads, so you'll need to think quick to make sure you don't throw the ball to the wrong person.

That's about it from the demo. All in all, it looks like EA is putting together a tight package for this year's college football game. Be sure to check back soon when we'll tackle the game's all-new online dynasty mode. NCAA Football 09 drops on July 15th for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PS2, and PSP.