Steve, a main guy over at OS who is a straight shooter, has posted his initial impressions of the NCAA Beta:
http://www.operationsports.com/preview.php?id=36
Just a few points from his post which is long:
Under the good points:
- Interceptions and Pick 6's definitely seem toned down to him. He's had limited time with the game so far, but he has only seen 1 pick 6.
- QB's will have some errant throws for no reason - it just gets away from them sometimes.
- CPU QB seems smarter, but doesn't throw deep much at all.
- AI in general is smarter and more challenging.
- WR's are fighting for the ball much more, perhaps a bit too much.
Under the bad points:
- Heisman Trophy selection seems to heavily favor the QB's.
- Issues with the change to a 40 second play clock.
- CPU snaps the ball too quickly to allow any defensive adjustments most of the time.
- Still only 1 camera view and NCAA doesn't pan out to show wide receivers like Madden will this year.
- Offensive linemen will just stand there at times if there is no one to block, rather than looking for someone to block.
He has much more info than that which can be found at the above link. I just picked out a few of my favorite points from reading his post.