Michigan repeat? Will Howard Heisman campaign? Here’s what Year 1 of a College Football 25 dynasty sim looked like

College Football 25 is finally here! Like everyone else, I have been awestruck by the amount of detail that the EA Sports crew put into the title and that’s even with me only playing a handful of exhibitions and mini-games after 48 hours.

Dynasty mode is, of course, the central feature of the game and what always fascinates me is the world-building element of it. On top of being able to build up a program, the aspect of customizing conferences from year-to-year is extremely alluring. Want to create a world where USC and San Diego State are suddenly league rivals? Well you can make that happen. So I did!

I’ve decided to simulate multiple seasons of dynasty mode with dramatic alterations to all 10 FBS conferences. College football realignment has gotten out of control in recent years and as the puppet master of this world, I’m going to give these leagues somewhat of a regional identity again. The kicker here is that there will be a promotion/relegation element to it from year to year. The 10 leagues will be paired off into “higher” and “lower” conferences based off regional connection. The top two teams of the lower league will be promoted up for the next season, while the bottom two teams of the higher league will be booted down. Also in regards to the service academies, I’ve decided to make Army and Navy independent while keeping Air Force in a conference.

Got it? Good. Now let’s take a look at the conference affiliations.

West Coast

Pac-12

The Pac-12 as we knew it died a senseless death in real life and I will not stand for it. So I got the entire band back together…with a few additions. Boise State and San Diego State have long been excellent Group of Five programs that have been stonewalled by the Pac-12 for membership and you know what? They’re in. The Pac-12 (14) is the premier conference of the West Coast.

Mountain West Conference

Naturally, the Mountain West will be paired with the Pac-12 in this promotion/relegation system. With Boise and SDSU already in the big league, I replaced them with New Mexico State and UTEP. The MWC imports the Battle of I-10 rivalry into its conference to start and NMSU gets tied to the hip with in-state rival New Mexico

Texas/Great Plains/Louisiana

Big 12

You think you can just escape to the SEC, Oklahoma and Texas? Oh, no no no. Not in my world. The Big 12 (14) has gone back to being a league that represents a combo of the old Southwest Conference and the old Big 8. So hello Arkansas, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and SMU.

Conference USA

Ok, so the real-life Conference USA is a total mess and it took me awhile to determine how to rearrange it. Given that it is paired with the Big 12 in this promotion/relegation grouping, I decided to give it a Texas/Louisiana flare with a few nearby schools like Arkansas State, Memphis, and Tulsa.

Southeast

SEC

In this world, the SEC will be something to close to what it was prior to its expansion in 1992. Actually, scratch that. How about what it was prior to 1964 because hey, Georgia Tech, welcome back! I’ve also decided to add Florida State as well, just to let anxious Noles fans dream a little bit.

Sun Belt

The Sun Belt has prided itself on leaning into regionality in recent years and that’s no different here. Operating within the SEC footprint, I’ve made the conference even tighter by spanning through the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.

Midwest

Big Ten

The Big Ten (14) is finally once again contained to the Midwest now that I’ve thrown out the West Coast schools, Maryland, and Rutgers. To heck with that nonsense. After over a century, Notre Dame will finally sport the “B1G” logo on its uniforms and ah, what the heck, Iowa State and Missouri can come along as well.

MAC

The MAC has remained the most static conference through these latest rounds of realignment and that will mostly remain the case with a few additions. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky kicked the tires on joining the MAC back in 2021, but ultimately decided to stay in C-USA. Let’s go ahead and put them in. And UMass is already set to join the league in 2025, so let’s bump the timeline up a year.

Atlantic Coast/Mid-Atlantic

Ok, I paired the ACC and the AAC together and this was probably the hardest to flesh out. Both leagues are a weird amalgamation of the old ACC and the old Big East, with several members also tracing their roots back to Conference USA and even the Metro Conference. The ACC in this scenario will be the “higher” conference, but just roll with it here.

ACC

The ACC’s original membership is intact with South Carolina and Maryland returning. I decided to keep Virginia Tech here for the sake of regional continuity and also added Liberty, who in real life earned the G5’s New Year’s Six slot last year. I also kept Boston College and Syracuse while adding Rutgers to maintain a presence in the Northeast.

AAC

This could very well be the most chaotic league in the simulation. I wanted to replicate the flavor of late 2000’s Big East and that’s why you see several of those schools here. The Backyard Brawl and the War on I-4 are the two premier rivalries of the league and on paper, Miami should be the power.

Alright, everyone got the layout of the land? Let’s see what weirdness the simulation overlords cook up. Let’s jump into Year 1 and sim to the end of the season.

2024

2024 Standings

Pac-12

Ok, so I must’ve accidentally turned off the conference championship game for the Pac-12. Simple mistake that will be fixed in 2025. Anyway, Oregon ended up winning the league title, which what most likely have been the result had the Pac-12 stuck together in real life. Arizona and Utah finishing second and third isn’t too much of a surprise either.

After those three teams, the league was just a bunch of mid with everyone beating up on each other. USC finishing 7-5 in real life would put Lincoln Riley squarely on the hot seat. Boise State barely squeaked out bowl eligibility in its first season in a power conference while San Diego State struggled. And Washington, yeesh. The dropoff following the national title game appearance was hard.

And your first relegation victims are Stanford and Washington State. Just absolute abysmal seasons, especially for a Cam Ward-less Cougs team. Brutal, see y’all in the MWC next year.

Mountain West

Congratulations to Nevada and Hawai’i, who were the top two teams in the Mountain West and will be called up to the Pac-12 next year. The Wolfpack defeated the Rainbow Warriors 24-21 in the MWC title game and that’s a shocking 180 after back-to-back 2-10 seasons.

Big 12

Hey look at that, Texas A&M won something. The Aggies fired Jimbo Fisher, changed leagues, and won their first conference title since 1998, beating Oklahoma in the process. Also, laughing at 6-6 Texas. Do you know how furious that would make the Austin contingent in real life? Your SEC invite gets pulled, you get thrown back into a league with a bunch of schools you think you’re better than, and barely become bowl eligible?

Arkansas and SMU, the Southwest Conference reunion was fun for a year. But you’re going to Conference USA pals, I don’t make the rules. Oh wait, I do!

Conference USA

Louisiana and North Texas were the top teams in CUSA for 2024 and will get bumped up to the Big 12 in 2025. North Texas actually defeated Louisiana 31-27 in the conference title game, a result that actually ended up costing the Ragin’ Cajuns a shot at the College Football Playoff. So close.

Meanwhile, Tulane and Memphis had fine seasons but I expected them to come in and dominate immediately. We’ll see if they can move up the ladder next year.

Big Ten

Alright, this is what this game was made for. 10 Windiana actually happened, thanks to (virtual) Curt Cignetti. The Hoosiers still ended up getting clipped by Ohio State in the Big Ten title game, but that’s awesome. What wasn’t awesome was Notre Dame, who finished with a flat 7-5 record in its first year in the league. Finishing below Purdue in the conference standings would have Marcus Freeman on the hot seat immediately.

Iowa and Northwestern are your relegation victims from the Big Ten, both barely being competitive in the league. That’s not a really a surprise for the Wildcats but I’d imagine the Hawkeyes getting sent down to the MAC would be what finally forces Kirk Ferentz into retirement.

MAC

Hey, look at the Hilltoppers! Western Kentucky rattles off 10 wins to end the season, wins the conference, and will be heading to the Big Ten next year. The Golden Flashes finished the year below .500 but hey, they did just enough to earn that promotion as well. The American dream.

SEC

The SEC proved to be a meat grinder with teams just picking each other off every single week. Georgia finished with the best record in the regular season, but was upset by Florida in the SEC title game. FSU held its own with a respectable 8-4 record in its first season of SEC action while Georgia Tech cratered in November and ended up missing a bowl.

The league’s two relegation victims were Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, who actually have the lowest odds to win the conference in real life at DraftKings Sportsbook. See, this sim isn’t total fiction.

Sun Belt

Southern Miss and UAB are SEC bound in 2025 after finishing with the top records in the Sun Belt. Like its bigger counterpart, this was also a meat grinder league with six teams finishing within a game of first place.

ACC

No matter what circumstance, the ACC wheel of destiny keeps spinning. South Carolina went on a tear in conference play and was on the doorstep of just its second conference title in program history…before getting canned by Boston College in the ACC title game. Clemson, 6-6? Really? FSU is gone and you can barely get to a bowl? That should be it for ol’ Dabo.

Also, Rutgers and Liberty. Thanks for playing pals. You made a bowl game and that’s cool. But it’s time to do a stint in the American.

AAC

Pitt beats West Virginia in the AAC title game, potentially costing the Mountaineers a shot at competing for the national title. Where have we seen that happen before? Regardless, both Backyard Brawl schools are getting called over to the ACC next year.

Oof, Miami. You were close. But not quite good enough!

2024 Heisman Trophy

Alright, let’s go to the most prestigious award in the sport. Your 2024 Heisman Trophy winner is dramatic drumroll…

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard!

Howard becomes the latest high-profile quarterback transfer to take home the award, becoming the first Buckeye to win it since Troy Smith in 2006. He’s won of the odds favorites in real life with +1500 odds, so he actually lived up to the billing while leading OSU to a regular season win over Michigan and the Big Ten title.

Arizona QB Noah Fifita being a Heisman finalist isn’t a surprise considering his excellent 2023 campaign. What is a surprise, however, is South Carolina redshirt freshman LaNorris finishing as the Heisman Trophy runner-up. The Florence, SC, native took just a handful of snaps as a true freshman in 2023, but apparently an extra season and a change to the ACC unlocked his true potential. Also, interesting that Colorado sent a player to the Heisman ceremony that wasn’t Shedeur Sanders or Travis Hunter.

2024 College Football Playoff

Now it’s time for the first 12-team College Football Playoff in this universe. The winner and national champion is….for a second year in a row, Michigan!

That’s right, a Michigan team who went 8-4 in the regular season secured the No. 6 seed and ran the table to go back-to-back. They knocked off No. 1 Texas A&M in the championship game, a high-scoring showdown where Donovan Edwards ran for over 130 yards in the win. The most hilarious thing about their run is knocking off Ohio State, which I’m sure would send Buckeye fans in a blinding rage after they had just knocked the Wolverines off in the regular season.

Shoutout to WKU, who earned a bid as the Group of Five representative and actually scored an upset over Arizona before falling to Boston College. College football, even weirder in video games than real life.