EA Sports College Football Online Dynasty Rules

The SSG EA Sports College Football Online Dynasty league is based on the mission of sim gameplay, first and foremost. Our rules are subject to being changed–even midseason–if an issue has been identified that is grossly impacting this mission. We will do our best to handle rule changes quickly and appropriately.

Overview

  • EA Sports College Football 25 for PlayStation 5
  • 32 users across the ACC, B1G, B12, and SEC with 8 users in each conference
  • Default coaches (no custom coaches)
  • Custom schedules
  • Coaching carousel in use along with Discord approval for new jobs (keeping the conference balance above)
  • Custom playbooks are allowed and encouraged
  • Advances are every 72 hours at 8pm ET. We do use, however, a hybrid schedule that allows for a 48-hour advance if the following two conditions have been met:
    • All user vs user games have been played
    • No one has asked for extra time (still within the 72-hours)
  • Conference realignment will be voted on each offseason.
  • Offensive Skill: All-American
  • Defensive Skill: All-American
  • Custom Sliders (curated by Mike Lowe and our leadership team and reviewed every four in-game weeks)
  • Quarter Length: 11 Minutes
  • Clock Runoff: 15 seconds
  • Game Speed: Normal
  • Home Field Advantage: On
  • Playcall Coodown: None
  • Playcall Limit: None
  • Ballhawk: Off
  • Heat Seeker: Off
  • Switch Assist: User preference

Sim Gameplay

Here is a running list of what we consider sim and what we consider NOT sim. Violations of any of the Sim Gameplay rules can result in removal from the league.

  • Kneeling and the 2-Minute Warning (image above)
    • We can use the chart above for user vs user games, but keep in mind that the CPU teams will NOT call a timeout if down by multiple scores with 2-minutes or less left in the 4th quarter. If the CPU teams are not taking timeouts, you are expected to kneel it out.
  • Stat Padding: Padding your stats goes against the mission of the league and is heavily frowned upon. Big games can happen organically, but since ALL games are being streamed/archived, this will be easy to see if guys are force-feeding players, using money players repeatedly, etc.
  • Chew Clock: No chew clock until the 4th quarter. Exception: if the losing team is down big and is trying to end the game (winning team can follow suit if they see this).
  • Unstoppable Plays/Adjustments: There’s always something…double reverse pass, excessive motioning and/or motioning a guy to create a glitch, nano blitzing on every third down, etc. Don’t do it. You will be banned.
  • Flipping Plays: The flipping of a play on offense is not allowed. This is different from flipping a play on the playcall screen or adjusting the run side of a play, both of which which are allowed. If you feel the need to flip, call an audible, a single hot route, or use a timeout instead.
  • Player Movement: No parallel running and zig zagging as it manipulates pursuit by the CPU players you don’t control. Zig zagging is different from both juking and just normal movements with the analog stick. This includes straight sprints to the sidelines on kick/punt returns.
  • QB-Specific Movement (in addition to Player Movement)
    • Play-Action Pass: No play-action pass plays on 3rd and 6+ yards or 4th and 6+ yards.
    • QB Scrambling: QBs should remain in the pocket unless pressured. Designated QB runs (e.g., read options) are allowed but should not be overused.
      • QB should not be sprinting back 10 yards on drop-backs.
      • QB should not just sprint straight to the sidelines after the snap. Let the QB complete his drop-back motion, and then you can scramble if you are facing immediate pressure.
      • QB should not be constantly drifting to the right/left on a standard drop-back.
      • There are designed roll-outs in the game, but none of them sprint you to the sideline.
    • QB Playmaker Ability: Using the QB playmaker ability, that is using the right stick to direct a WR while scrambling, is banned in all instances.
  • WR Control: You are not allowed to control a WR’s movement or catch type. To simplify the language, you are not allowed to control a receiver whatsoever other than audibles/hot routes/motion.
  • Hot Routes: No more than a single hot route (for a player running a route) can be called during any offensive playcall. This relates to changing a route, so if you’re using max protect, that does not count as your hot route. If you’re needing to adjust more than this, you need to understand you’re in the wrong play and should call an audible or use a timeout.
  • No Huddle
    • No more than one consecutive no huddle attempt can be called, and the play must be changed completely.
    • Exception: Only in the final 2 minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarters can you attempt a max of 3 consecutive no huddles, while changing the play completely. This expands to 5 minutes in the 4th quarter (not 2nd) when down by 9+ points.
  • Playcalling and Money Plays
    • Offensive play-calling must demonstrate variety, and no one should be using the same play repeatedly because it’s hard to stop.
    • Vary your runs, vary your formations, and vary your routes. Do not resort to go-to plays on most 3rd downs. We all have tendencies, but let’s open up the playbook for this league.
  • Defense
    • Vary your coverage, vary your formations, and vary your blitzes. If you have a team that is built to play more man feel free to do so. The same goes for zone schemes. Within your scheme you still need to call different zone/man plays.
    • You must always rush at least 3 defenders on every play, QB spy does not count as a rusher.
    • Grounded Defensive Switching: You may only switch on defense on a run play or after a catch is made. This removes the potential for accidental switch and picks. This eliminates the need for any close calls where it’s difficult to tell whether a switch was made before a pass was thrown. In this situation now–on a passing play–you’d need to wait until the pass was caught to switch.
    • Defensive Pre-Snap Movement: You can only move one player manually pre-snap. Other adjustments must be done via the defensive adjustment menus.
    • Hit/Cut Stick: Use in realistic moderation and do not be diving at a player’s legs for every tackle.
  • Special Teams
    • No more than 1 fake kick is allowed in a game. Onside kicks are not considered fake kicks.
    • You cannot manually position an extra blocker back on a punt or kick return.
  • 4th Down Rules (image above)
    • 4th down rules must fall in-line with the chart above (ESPN Analytics). This applies to normal circumstances.
    • If there is a time during the game when the AI coach suggests going for it (visually shown on screen in the suggested plays menu), you may opt to go for it, if you’d like.
    • When you are losing in the 4th quarter, you can go for it at anytime.
    • You do NOT have to follow this chart if you’d rather punt or kick a FG, and the chart does not mean that it should be automatic to go on 4th in this situation, as the game situation should help you determine this.
    • Fake punts/kicks can be done at anytime from any position on the field, but can never be used more than once in a game (per team). We encourage folks to keep this reasonable, meaning you do not HAVE to use one in every single game.

Participation and Streaming

  • Games must be started before the advance deadline and including a posted link in Discord of the stream. Special exceptions will be made w advanced notice.
  • Missing back to back games or 3 games in one season, without proper communication, will result in removal from the league.
  • Each game (even vs CPU) must be streamed with an active link posted to the Discord before kickoff. The default setup is for the away team to stream, but users can agree to have the home team stream instead, if need be.
  • Your stream archive (usually for Twitch) MUST be set to on. Check this NOW. Do not wait. There is no excuse for not having ALL of your games archived for at least the current season. We need to check streams for potential rule violations and it also provides “film” for future opponents.

Sportsmanship

  • Restarts–most notably vs AI teams–are not tolerated. We understand sometimes things happen, and we the commissioners will handle each instance on a case-by-case basis. Penalties for restarts can range from a forced loss in another game week to expulsion from the league.
  • Game Concession Guidelines
    • Concession Timing: In the fourth quarter, the losing team coach is allowed to pause the game and request a concession from their opponent. This should be considered when the losing team is down by a significant margin (e.g., 28 points or more) with about 4 minutes remaining in the game.
    • Concession Rules: If a concession is agreed upon, the following rules will apply:
    • No Additional Scoring: Neither team is allowed to score further points. Both teams must activate the “Chew Clock” feature. No timeouts may be called, and neither team is allowed to run commit. Passing is only allowed on third downs to secure a first down; no scoring plays are allowed in a conceded game.
    • Game Play Restrictions: The winning team will run the ball and keep the clock moving. The losing team should focus on limiting the game and avoid attempts to get back into the game (e.g., no running commit, no timeouts, no passing for big gains).
    • Concession Request Process: Only the losing team can request a concession, and the winning team must agree to the request. If the losing team does not request a concession, both teams may continue to play as usual, following the standard rules of the league.
    • Penalty for Unfair Concessions: If a concession is deemed to be made unfairly (e.g., when the game is not a blowout or made out of frustration), the losing team will receive a strike warning. Concessions are intended for situations where there is no reasonable chance of a comeback, not as an excuse to quit early.

If you have a complaint, contact a Commissioner privately on Discord. Do not blast the main chat with a complaint about your opponent.

Game Scheduling

Communication is key for a successful league. Please don’t be lax or passive when it comes to contacting your opponent. Don’t play the waiting game.

Here’s how it should work:

  • Player A – Discord DM your opponent with the days and times that work for you during the advance window (not just “When can you play?”)
  • Player B will reply with what works for them, and you come to an agreement.

CPU Games

  • Teams are expected to play your AI opponent for any given week.
  • Any missed CPU games will result in a straight sim.
  • Repeatedly missing CPU games will result in removal from the league.

Disconnects

  • Disconnects will be handled on a case-by-case basis, but are best resolved between the two teams. Please make every attempt to get your games played.
  • Restarts vs a CPU opponent is one of the fastest ways to get yourself booted from the league. You better have an excellent reason and you better have a stream/archive of the incident.

Coaching Jobs

Once the league has officially begun, users can only switch teams at the end of a season using the coaching carousel if one of the eight user spot exists in that conference. Team selections, including tiebreakers, will be determined based on various factors such as getting games played, activity on Discord, win-loss record, and recruiting success.

Position Changes

  • No moving players to and from the same position to gain badges! This will result in an immediate ban from the league.
  • No WR to TE
  • No WR to HB or HB to TE
  • LB’s can be moved to LE/RE and vice versa.
  • LE/RE can be moved to DT and vice versa.
  • Secondary positions can be moved to another secondary position (CB, SS, FS)
  • SS/FS can only be moved to a LB position if they are 210 lbs minimum, and 86 speed maximum.
  • Athletes, upon entering NCAA, can be moved anywhere once. After THAT POINT, the rest of these rules would apply.
  • If you don’t see something listed here, please ask an admin before making the switch.

Punishments

We are not looking to punish people, but when an issue does come up, we will try to be as consistent as possible when addressing them. Punishments for any violations mention in the rules above are at the discretion of the leadership team and will be based on previous violations. We will do our best to follow a setup similar to what is shown below:

  • 1st Violation – Typically a penalty of punting on 1st down of your first possession in your next user game and the suspension of your two highest-rated players in your next user game. If no user games remain on the schedule, the penalties would carryover into the next season.
  • 2nd Violation – Most likely results in the removal of the user from the league.

Note: Punishments are subject to change at the discretion of the leadership team.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy