ROAD TO GLORY 26 Idea
Long time gamer of NCAA, Madden, and every other sports game. My favorite mode has always been Road to Glory because of a few reasons. One it's only four years, (sometimes three seasons) so unlike professional sports superstar modes it's over before you have a chance to feel fatigued playing with a player. However this year Road To Glory lacked some of the excitement I felt from previous Road To Glory modes. To me there was way too much focus on trying to make balanced decisions that ultimately didn't add much to the overall experience in a career mode. It was also too difficult in my opinion to increase your player's overall rating before he left for the pros. So as someone who loves this game and Road to Glory I have three things I'd like to see change for the 2026 version.
1. I hate story modes that force you character to make certain career moves but I recently played 2K new MyPlayer mode and there's something in there that I think would work in Road To Glory. Depending on your position, your team and rivals certain games are bonus points associated with them and story plots associated with them. Every college football fan knows your road to glory in college isn't about how many stats you break it's about how well you performed in key games and especially rivalry games. In a 15 to 17 game season EA should highlight two or three key games based off the school you've chosen. This should be pretty easy because they're already marked every NCAA rivalry for dynasty mode. So imagine this, your a sophomore starting QB at Michigan State. You've passed for great numbers to start the season, and the coach comes to you before the Michigan game saying our game-plan is for you to have over 200 yards and win. You agree, but you go out and throw two INTS and lose. Now you not only lose coach trust, but teammate trust, and you get a new meeting with your coach saying he might be looking to replace you with a transfer QB in the off season if you don't save your season. Now you're not just QB1 but you have to win the coach trust back and the fanbase back after losing to Michigan. If you don't you're forced to transfer like former Ohio State QB Kyle McCord did after losing to Michigan in 2023. It would make key games in Road To Glory have more weight and mimic what happens in real life after a star player loses or beats a rival.
2. Make it easier to gain EX points in the offseason. If I play a whole season as a true freshman and the season ends with me as an 85 overall I shouldn't start my sophomore year still at an 85 overall the next season. The offseason is the time most players make their biggest jump. It happens in dynasty mode and it should definitely happen in RTG mode. I would say give each RTG player an average of 5 to 7 overall player rating points depending on their season. If you hit certain milestones then boom you increase from an 85 to a 90 next season. If you don't want to do milestones then make it based off the program you play for. If you play for a bad school not known for development like Northwestern then you increase by 1 and if you play for a school like Georgia known for NFL development you increase by 4 or 5. Lastly if you don't like those suggestions maybe give the user a set of skills he can increase in the offseason. He can choose to get stronger which increases, his strength, his throw power, his stiff arm. Instead of strength he could choose to work on his speed in the offseason, so speed is increased along with, acceleration, juke move etc. If he chooses to study his playbook in the offseason then that increases his awareness, throwing accuracy, and clutch rating. I think there's a lot of ways to make the growth a play out in the offseason better but not having anything really takes momentum from year to year out.
3. High school play is optional. I think a lot of people want HS to be in the game for 2026 because its fun. We like creating a monster that cant be stopped and putting up insane numbers on our way to winning a state title for our high school but I don't think it needs to be a required part of the game to launch your story. I liked that this year you could choose your team, choose your starting ranking and go with the path that made sense to you. I think add High school but make it optional for people like me who will have multiple RTG characters and not want to face HS talent with every player/ position.
