When EA Tiburon’s NCAA Football 11 experience is hot, it’s hot. I’m playing as the University of Southern California Trojans in the BCS National Championship versus the Alabama Crimson Tide. With only 23 seconds left in the game, USC is only up by four points with ‘Bama just feet away from scoring a touchdown to take a very late game lead. The Crimson Tide has been deadly in the Red Zone for the entire game so I’m prepared to take the loss and gear up for next season. As the Tide’s QB throws the ball into the end zone though, everything changes as I make a final push for a big play — I take control of my corner and leap up and grab the ball for an interception. The rest is history as my corner runs to the opposite end zone and scores, sealing USC as champions of the world (for this season at least) and making me leap off of my couch in happiness.
If only that situation described every moment in the game, NCAA Football 11 would be close to pigskin perfection. But while it does so many things much better than even Madden has pulled off recently, EA’s collegiate level football offering misses in a few key areas that affect the game as a whole.
