EA College Football 25 passing guide: Controls, meter, settings, and more for NCAA 25

Mastering your passing game is mandatory to become a great player in College Football 25. This guide has everything you need to know about passing in NCAA 25 such as an explanation of the passing meter, passing types, and how to throw different pass types.

EA College Football 25 passing meter explained

The passing meter in College Football represents the accuracy and power of the ball to a receiver. There are slight adjustments to the passing meter depending on the passing type you’re using (more on that later) but the principles are pretty much the same across the board.

The passing meter determines how powerful and accurate your pass will be. It also determines what type of pass you’ll throw such as lob, bullet, etc. Filling up the meter longer will result in a powerful pass, but less accurate. You’ll find colors within the passing meter, blue, red, and yellow, where blue is the most accurate and red is the least.

Best Passing mechanics and settings in EA College Football 25

Before we get into passing in NCAA 25, it’s important to know which mechanics and settings to adjust in the main menu. Below are our picks for the best passing mechanics and settings.

• Passing Type: Revamped passing
• Passing Slowdown: Off
• Pass Lead Increase: Small
• Reticle Speed: 7
• Reticle Visibility: User only
• Meter Visibility: User only

The best passing mechanic mentioned is “Pass Lead Increase.” This mechanic essentially determines how much your analog stick movement will lead a player. For the best results and realism, set the Pass Lead Increase mechanic to small.

Best passing type in EA College Football 25

NCAA 25 has four passing types, each with different playstyles. The four are Revamped, Classic, Placement, and Placement and Accuracy. After testing each of the passing types myself, I found that the Revamped passing type is the best in College Football 25. It’s the most realistic and simply the most enjoyable. It also is extremely fair for newcomers to master.

Still, I recommend going into practice mode and testing all four out for yourself to determine which best fits your playstyle and feels the best for you. Let’s go over how each passing type works in College Football 25.

Revamped passing

Revamped passing is the default passing type for EA College Football 25. This passing type focuses on throw power and your QB’s stats. When you start a pass, you’ll notice three colors in the throwing meter: red, yellow, and blue. Where you land in the meter indicates how well you throw the pass.

• Red: Too much power and indicates inaccuracy.
• Yellow: Possibility of missing your target.
• Blue: Safe and accurate pass.

The size of the colors in a throwing meter is determined by your QB’s attributes, abilities, and throw distance. Additionally, on-field factors can affect the size of the colors such as being pressured, on the run, etc. If you are looking for the most realistic passing type in NCAA 25, revamped passing is the way to go.

Classic passing

Any Madden or NCAA player will be familiar with the classic passing type. There is no meter above the receiver’s head. Instead, all you need to do is snap the ball and select the button assigned to a receiver to throw a lob, bullet, touch, or standard pass. Which pass you throw depends on how long or quickly you press the button. No stick movement is required for this passing type.

Placement

The placement passing type enables the player to have more control over the power and placement of a ball. When throwing a pass, a meter appears above the head of the receiver indicating the power of the throw. Immediately after, a circle appears around the ball’s landing zone and the player can use the right analog stick to adjust the ball’s placement or power. Accuracy is not determined by the throwing meter, but instead by player ratings.

The best way to utilize this passing type is to get around defenders and better place the ball. For example, you can hold the analog stick downfield for more power, over the defender’s heads.

Placement & Accuracy

Placement and accuracy are similar to the placement passing type, except it enables a timing element for perfect accuracy on bullet passes. This gives the player more control overall, where they can use the right analog stick to adjust the ball toward the receiver if it is too far left or right on bullet passes.

Placement and accuracy can be difficult to master, but once you do, it’s the best passing type in NCAA 25 due to the amount of control it gives the player.

How to throw different pass types in EA College Football 25

There are four different types of passes in NCAA 25, each very useful in certain situations. Below explains how to throw each pass and when is the best time to execute them.

How to throw a touch pass

If you aren’t familiar with a touch pass in football, just know that it falls between a bullet and a lob pass. It’s faster than a lob pass but higher than a bullet. Here’s how to throw a touch pass in each passing scheme:

• Revamped: Briefly hold the button until the meter is between a third and two-thirds full.
• Placement and Accuracy: Briefly hold the button and release about halfway through the meter.
• Placement: Briefly hold the button and release about three-quarters of the meter.
• Classic: Briefly hold the button for a second.

The best time to throw a touch pass is when a receiver has enough space from defenders and is running downfield or crossfield in his route. Touch passes are a great way to lead the receiver.

How to throw a lob pass

A lob pass is exactly as it sounds. It’s when the QB lobs a pass high up in the air, increasing the amount of time it takes to come down to the field. Throwing a lob pass is exactly the same for each passing type in NCAA 25. All you need to do is tap the button of the intended receiver.

The best time to throw a lob pass is when a receiver is covered by a defender, but may have a height advantage or is farther downfield. The lob allows the receiver to jump up for a pass. It’s a risk, but can come in handy when used right.

How to throw a bullet pass

A bullet pass is the fastest pass in College Football, hence the name “bullet.” Similar to lob passes, throwing a bullet pass is the same for all passing types in NCAA 25. To throw a bullet pass, hold down the intended receiver’s button until right before the meter turns yellow. You can hold it longer, but doing so will increase the possibility of error and could lead to an inaccurate pass.

The best time to use a bullet pass is when you want to get the ball to a receiver as quickly as possible. This could happen if you’re running out of time, on screenplays, or other quick midfield pass plays to get a first down.

How to throw the ball away

Lastly, you could throw the ball away. Throwing the ball away means the QB will throw the ball out of bounds, stopping the clock. Players can easily do this by tapping R3 on PlayStation or RS on Xbox.

The best time to throw the ball away is when you don’t see any receivers open and the pocket is collapsing. This prevents you from losing yards on the play. Remember, you lose a down when throwing the ball away, so make sure you’re sure of the decision before doing so.

Now that you understand how passing works in College Football 25, you can improve your passing game and score some touchdowns. Head over to our kicking guide to make sure you never miss a field goal again.