For me, this was the peak of the franchise and football video games. NCAA Football games were always better balanced and played more competitively than the Madden games, and the ratings mattered more but without breaking the game like Michael Vick did in Madden 04. 06 really showcased this by making it clear which players were "impact players" so you could gameplan and play around them, much like what would happen in real life. Also, these impact players would have increased attributes during big moments and the AI would often go to them as a result, which, again, reflected real life but also created in-game increased challenges. This led to memorable moments and stretches of games where you had to change and adapt how you were playing; compare this to today, where even modern sports games sort of feel the same on the first play as they do on the last play of the game.

NCAA, by this point, also had more atmosphere within the stadiums, great commentary (and would take this away if the game wasn't a "televised" contest), and immersive realism in the menus with dynamic Sports Illustrated covers and news articles that would adapt depending on whether a game was close, considered an upset, or to showcase great games by players.

This game was one of the first sports games with a mode where you could play a player instead of the whole team; here, it was called the "Race to the Heisman" mode. The mode wasn't as filled with features as later versions would have (later renamed "Campus Legend"), but I think this was to the game's benefit. Later versions would have weird quizzes for your "major" and boring practices or drills to do during the week that bloated the mode much like the issues with Madden Superstar and NBA 2K career modes.

The other big change here was the addition of in-season recruiting which gave you something to do during the dynasty seasons and reflected real life. It was still a very simple system but a good start.

The game had create-a-school and all-time and historic teams, things that are sorely missed from a lot of current sports games and are honestly essential for the sports gamer.

The only knocks I have on this game is that the recruiting system isn't as good as it would be in later editions and couch multiplayer games were still nascent in addressing playcall sniping and allowing opponents to shift cameras during field goals kicks. Still - a great game and one that the next NCAA Football game should look to for inspiration, moreso than '14.