I know that I wasn't the only one who stayed up until 2 and 3am playing NCAA was I? The new edition of NCAA 08 has tons of changes, additions, and amazing graphics (depending on what game system you have). I enjoyed playing a game that has raised the bar for other college games out there. The graphics and features are in a word, fluid. The players' intelligence is off the charts! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a safety attempt to keep his feet in bounds while going for the interception. Now that's what I'm talking about!

And speaking of the defenses, does anyone feel that the defense has caught up with the offense? One mistake, one poorly thrown ball, or one bad matchup and the ball WILL go the other way...guaranteed. I played with the USF Bulls and was able to force 5 turnovers against a ranked Penn State. This is something that I've been lobbying for a while. Anyone has the ability to catch the ball, even if it's the defense. How real is that? No more of that "almost" crap, even though I did hear Corso give me that speech after a couple of plays. The defense and their many formations are up to speed. And yes I do know that the AI level needs to be high in order to get the real thing, but EA got it right with increasing INTs.

The kicking game got a little better also. But one thing that I was a little miffed about is seeing opposing kickers boot 52-56 yarders with regularity. I know that the kicking game is important, but it should not be a real factor in the college game. EA has a simple kicking process that includes using the arrows to line up the ball and if you fill up the gauge, your chances are excellent at hitting the longest 3 point shot in sports! However, I don't think that the kicker for TCU should have a better leg than ex pro kicker Mike Vanderjagt. On second thought, Vanderjagt doesn't have a job anymore. Don't sleep on the kicking game because it just may be the biggest yet underrated factor in getting a win or a loss.

I spent 5 ½ hours on the game last night and am paying for it today. But EA did a good job at capturing the suspense of gamers across the country and I think I'll lose some more sleep tonight.

I'm Tovash Hatcher