Best defense tips for College Football 25

Even seasoned football veterans will get burnt from time to time on defense in College Football 25. However, it only takes a few adjustments and decisions to make you a better defender.

Like actual College Football, defenders often miss tackles, mess up assignments, and get run over by ball carriers in EA’s latest football sim. College Football 25 is leaning into the frenetic nature of the sport by creating an arcade-like experience that is full of highlight-reel plays.

This comes at the expense of defense, often making it hard to stop an offense consistently. If you are struggling like many others, there are a few defensive tips that will help.

College Football defense tips

Match personnel

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While on defense, you should let your opponent choose a play first. From there, a graphic will appear in the top left-hand corner of the screen showing them how many running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers are on the field.

If the offense has two wide receivers or less, it makes more sense to run a 4-3 or 3-4 defense or any formation that has more defenders at the line of scrimmage in preparation for a run play.

However, if there are three receivers on the field the nickel formation adds an extra corner back to account for them. And if there are four, dime and dollar have four corner backs on the field.

This doesn’t apply to zone defense formations, but you still want to make sure you properly match up with what your opponent is running.

Make pre-play adjustments

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Your job isn’t finished after selecting a play. Once you have a good idea of how the opposing offense operates, you can start making adjustments to counter them.

Here is a full list of defensive adjustment options:

• Press left on D-Pad for the defensive line
• Pres right on D-Pad for linebackers
• Press in on the right stick and then triangle on PlayStation or X on Xbox for secondary
• Press in on the right stick and then X on PlayStation or A on Xbox for individual players
• Press R1 on PlayStation or RB on Xbox for full defense

Since players don’t have much time to manually adjust every position group on the field before the ball is snapped, players should focus their attention on making small adjustments, when needed.

If an opponent is running the ball to the left, shift your linebackers and defensive linemen to the left. If there is one more play in the half shade and you know your opponent is going to throw deep, shade your defense over the top and have your secondary give cushion.

Or, if your opponent has a mobile quarterback, employ a QB contain or contain from the edge rushers. Making small adjustments like these goes a long way in forcing your opponent out of their comfort zone.

Disguise your defense

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Disguises are a new feature in College Football 25 that allow players to hide what defensive formation they are in. For example, if you are in a cover 3, you can show a cover 2 to catch your opponent off guard.

When you access your secondary defensive adjustments menu, there is an option to show different defenses by pressing left or right on the left stick. Depending on which defense you are aligned in, there will be different options.

When playing against newcomers to the series, it isn’t as important to disguise your defense. However, in a match against a seasoned veteran, pulling this maneuver out of your back pocket could be a game-changer.

Take advantage of new switch stick

To intercept a pass in College Football 25, you must press the triangle on PlayStation or Y on Xbox while controlling the defender closest to the incoming pass.

Players can use the new switch stick feature to switch to the defender closest to the incoming pass. By flicking the right stick in the direction of the incoming pass, you will switch into a different defender and have a chance to make a play on the ball.

The switch stick feature makes it easier for you to jump in front of a pass and intercept it, and is a great option with plenty of opportunity for use.

Don’t spam pass rush moves on the defensive line

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Blue dots over a defensive lineman’s head indicate how many pass rush points they have. If a player performs a successful pass-rush move, they get to keep the dot, which is indicated by a green check mark.

However, if a defensive lineman fails to get past an offensive lineman, they lose a dot. Players with more dots have a higher chance of completing a pass rush.

In addition, if you use the same pass rush move too many times, the offensive lineman will develop resistance. The more filled with red, the more resistant to rush moves that blocker is to the current player you’re controlling.

With that in mind, mix up which pass rush moves you use on the defensive line, to have the best chance of making stops on defense.

Use the best defensive formations

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For beginners or players of any skill level, there are a few defensive concepts that work well for most situations. Cover 2 man is one of the safest coverages in the game and prevents too many plays over the top, because of the two deep safeties.

Along the same lines, Tampa 2 in the cover 2 concept does a good job of keeping plays in front of you and limiting what offenses can do. Next, cover 3 and cover 3 sky protect deep better than cover 2, and provide a good mix of rush and pass defense.

For blitzing, the man blitz concept has several plays. They have six rushers which are indicated by red lines. Since there are only five offensive linemen, use a play that rushes six, and one player will have a free shot on the quarterback, unless the opponent adjusts their blocking.

Avoid guessing plays

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Pressing in on the right stick before a snap on defense opens up the menu to shift a defense or guess a play. We recommend staying away from the guess play feature, unless you are absolutely certain what to expect.

For example, if the ball is at the one-yard line and you know the offense is going to run the ball. Guessing a run up the middle could result in a stop. However, if you are in the middle of the field, and you guess a run up the middle, but it’s a pass, The offense will score an easy touchdown because all of your defenders will rush.

It is also ok to guess pass if it is a third and long situation, or a QB is throwing a deep pass to end the half, but these are all situational.

Guessing plays is a high-risk, high-reward feature that often hurts more than helps.

Be patient

One of the hardest feats to pull off on defense is an open-field tackle. Juke moves often break ankles and cause defenders to fall.

To avoid getting caught with your pants down, we recommend sitting back on defense and waiting for the right angle and opportunity to pounce on a ball carrier.

This sounds easier said than done, but if you bide your time and line up a hit rather than lunging in, making tackles becomes much easier.

For more on College Football 25, check out our guides on how to kick or throw different types of passes.