Bad Beats: NCAA 25 Edition

[PowerofRed25]

Well, I've encountered a bunch of tough beats and questionable bugs and glitches in my decades of playing NCAA Football but I think this might be the worst.

This was a Road to the CFP game, my UNLV vs his Rice and this was a 4th & GL for Rice. I was in an inverted Cover 2, manually controlling the FS in the middle of the field and he was running a hot route variation of Double Pivot, but using Dbl Slot Cross as the base play and hot routing the slots to Pivots. So he had a Post-Pivot to the left, Square In-Pivot-Fade to the right.

He had run the play a few times earlier in the game in similar Down & Distance situations so I had a feeling it was coming and an inverted Cover 2 is a perfect call for that play in my opinion since the invert CBs will carry the two vertical outside routes and then pass them off to me in the middle and then they'll pick up the In as it comes across with the flat guys pick up the pivots.

The coverage was perfect, the CB and TE got to the ball at the same time and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground... for a touchdown?






I have no idea what happened here. I know CFB 25 has some weird graphics glitches where the ball will come loose after a play and look like a fumble or drop, but this is the first time I've ever seen something like this. The TE never had the ball and the TE's animation when he got up wasn't celebratory like you'd normally see. I did challenge the play and it stood as called. That play ended up being the game winning TD.

We had a good laugh about it after the game joking that it must have been the same ACC refs Miami has been paying off but what a brutal way to lose a game. Admittedly I had a chance to tie but ended up throwing a pick trying to force it down the field.

Early 20s NCAA 10-12 me probably would have broken a controller but now I just laugh and use my controller fund to buy tequila.

[jello1717]

I think it was likely a TD catch and hit my biggest pet peeve with CFB25 which is the one you mentioned where the player will drop the ball the millisecond the play is over like the ball gave him an electric shock or something. That stupid thing makes lots of plays look like fumbles, or drops (especially on the sideline). I’ve even seen a couple of times where my QB will run out of bounds and the mS his foot step out he releases the ball and I guess his momentum just propels the ball forward like it was shot out of a canon and it’ll smack into the stadium inner wall.

Anywho, after watching the video, i’d bet that the game called it a TD catch and he immediately released the ball, like they’re want to do (I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve scored a TD and the guy drops the ball immediately and then strikes the Heisman pose celebration without the ball).

[pietasterp]

I know what jello1717 is saying, it definitely could be that, but the way he falls to the ground it looks to me like a drop animation, especially since it happened after contact.

I haven't lost on this (yet), but I've had the crazy thing happen to me on a late option pitch where the ball goes haywire in a forward direction, everyone ends up on the ground well short of the endzone, and it's ruled a TD.

I think you just have to laugh at that.

[PowerofRed25]

Quote: Originally Posted by pietasterp

I know what jello1717 is saying, it definitely could be that, but the way he falls to the ground it looks to me like a drop animation, especially since it happened after contact. I haven't lost on this (yet), but I've had the crazy thing happen to me on a late option pitch where the ball goes haywire in a forward direction, everyone ends up on the ground well short of the endzone, and it's ruled a TD. I think you just have to laugh at that.

Exactly. The animation, and the TE's total lack of reaction to it, makes me think that the animation that was triggered was that of a drop and incomplete pass but something in the coding also happened to trigger a TD. My theory is that the two animations of TE catching ball and CB trying to intercept ball "collided" and might have melted the game logic down to where the first animation that triggered, the TE catching the ball, was the result but the visual was that of a drop.

Nothing you can do but laugh and it made me happy that the two of us could get on chat and have a laugh about it knowing it was just a weird glitch in the matrix and talk real life ball a bit. It reminded me why I love playing NCAA online.

[sherrane]

Quote: Originally Posted by jello1717

I think it was likely a TD catch and hit my biggest pet peeve with CFB25 which is the one you mentioned where the player will drop the ball the millisecond the play is over like the ball gave him an electric shock or something. That stupid thing makes lots of plays look like fumbles, or drops (especially on the sideline). I’ve even seen a couple of times where my QB will run out of bounds and the mS his foot step out he releases the ball and I guess his momentum just propels the ball forward like it was shot out of a canon and it’ll smack into the stadium inner wall. Anywho, after watching the video, i’d bet that the game called it a TD catch and he immediately released the ball, like they’re want to do (I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve scored a TD and the guy drops the ball immediately and then strikes the Heisman pose celebration without the ball).

Agreed. I don't know if this one is the result of a recent patch or if I'm getting better, but I've seen it more often in recent weeks. You rush the QB and seemingly make a sack, but suddenly the ball is loose. Thoughts go through your mind like, "is it incomplete?" and / or "is it a fumble?" before realizing it was ruled a sack. The QB hitting the ground and the ball coming loose is nearly simultaneous and you consider challenging the play for a fumble but don't because you don't want them to rule incomplete and take the sack away.

[SilverBullet19]

I got back to back bad beats against the CPU.

Against Liberty I tied it with just over a minute to go. They had all 3 timeouts so I knew they would pass. From their 25, I called quarters, shifted DB’s deep and predicted pass. First play… streak route was wide open like quarters guys forgot the play call. I was able to tie it but lost in OT


Next game Stanford. Took a 34-31 lead with 14 seconds left. I called prevent figuring I’d rather give them a FG chance than lose (they had missed one already). Prevent, predict pass, shift DB’s deep… they run a medium pass and everyone comes flying up… so they can hit the lone streak route for an easy touchdown. That one felt like some major old school EA “no, you’re losing this game” programming, giving up a 70ish yard TD to a lone deep route with no one around him while in prevent defense.

[jello1717]

Quote: Originally Posted by SilverBullet19

I got back to back bad beats against the CPU. Against Liberty I tied it with just over a minute to go. They had all 3 timeouts so I knew they would pass. From their 25, I called quarters, shifted DB’s deep and predicted pass. First play… streak route was wide open like quarters guys forgot the play call. I was able to tie it but lost in OT Next game Stanford. Took a 34-31 lead with 14 seconds left. I called prevent figuring I’d rather give them a FG chance than lose (they had missed one already). Prevent, predict pass, shift DB’s deep… they run a medium pass and everyone comes flying up… so they can hit the lone streak route for an easy touchdown. That one felt like some major old school EA “no, you’re losing this game” programming, giving up a 70ish yard TD to a lone deep route with no one around him while in prevent defense.

When I go prevent I always call the man coverage play (all man with 3 deep zones) and it’s never failed me.

[sherrane]

Quote: Originally Posted by jello1717

When I go prevent I always call the man coverage play (all man with 3 deep zones) and it’s never failed me.

Prevent is a much softer coverage and it is disappointing he got beat on a defense that is specifically designed to force the throw underneath. His Prevent defense example is either a bug or he has some of the dumbest DBs in the game.


I agree with you and run 3 Deep Man quite often when I have been running zone more than usual or I have mostly man coverage corners. The drawback is a 3 man line, so you should have good edge rushers to increase its effectiveness.