Marco Wutz
Jun 27, 2025, 01:21 PM ET
Following its deep dive into College Football 26's gameplay, EA Sports has also given fans insight into the improvements made to the game's presentation. CFB 26's lighting system will correctly simulate regional and seasonal time of day, ensuring that matches taking place across the country will look the way they should depending on their location and timing -- an afternoon in Washington will look different from one in Texas, games held in November will see the sun go down more quickly than ones taking place two months earlier, and so forth.
Pregame runouts will be more dynamic as well: A primetime game against big rivals will trigger an epic runout, which might include fireworks or drone shows, while more regular matches without the extra context will feature more modest festivities.
Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, NC State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Texas State, UCF, Boston College, Notre Dame, Rutgers and UCLA will make use of light shows on occasion, while Arizona State, Cal, Florida, LSU, Texas, Ohio State, Clemson and Nebraska field celebratory drones.
Tradition, of course, is not forgotten: Regular runouts for the likes of Ohio and Utah are led by motorcycles, while South Carolina has its iconic Cockaboose.
In Road to Glory, on the other hand, runouts focus on the player's own athlete, beginning with them accompanying their team deep down in the tunnel to offer a more intimate and intense experience.
Naturally, band formations, music and mascots are all part of the pageantry as well. In addition to the mascots featured in last year's game, CFB 26 adds the following:
Utah Utes -- Swoop
Iowa Hawkeyes -- Herky the Hawk
Arkansas Razorbacks -- Big Red
Duke Blue Devils -- Blue Devil
Kansas Jayhawks -- Big Jay
Kansas State Wildcats -- Willie the Wildcat
Mississippi State Bulldogs -- Bully the Bulldog
Boise State Broncos -- Buster Bronco
Boston College Eagles -- Baldwin the Eagle
Louisville Cardinals -- Louie the Cardinal
Pittsburgh Panthers -- Roc the Panther
SMU Mustangs -- Peruna
Army Black Knights -- Mules
Navy Midshipmen -- Bill the Goat
NC State Wolfpack -- Mrs. Wuf
Ohio Bobcats -- Rufus the Bobcat
East Carolina Pirates -- PeeDee the Pirate
South Florida Bulls -- Rocky the Bull
Northwestern Wildcats -- Willie the Wildcat
Washington State Cougars -- Butch T. Cougar
Oregon State Beavers -- Benny Beaver
Rutgers Scarlet Knights -- Scarlet Knight
Kentucky Wildcats -- Scratch the Wildcat
Missouri Tigers -- Truman the Tiger
Air Force Falcons -- The Bird
Arizona Wildcats -- Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat
Baylor Bears -- Bruiser the Bear
Cincinnati Bearcats -- Lucille
Houston Cougars -- Shasta the Cougar
Iowa State Cyclones -- Cy the Cardinal
Texas Tech Red Raiders -- Masked Rider and Raider Red
Akron Zips -- Zippy the Kangaroo
Bowling Green Falcons -- Freddie
Wyoming Cowboys -- Pistol Pete
Colorado State Rams -- CAM the Ram
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers -- Chauncey the Chanticleer
Pop-Tarts Bowl mascot
In addition to runouts and mascots, certain touchdown and turnover traditions make their way into the game, among them are Akron's Turnover Tire, TCU's Frog Horns and Oklahoma State's Paddles.
A greater variety of player models, uniform options and the arrival of real-life head coaches further improve authenticity.
For a more detailed breakdown, interested fans can visit the official EA blog.
