About

New in College Football 26: while scrambling, you can direct receivers into open space by holding the left trigger and flicking the right stick. This makes you the true point guard of CUT 26 Coins your offense. Combine this with QB jukes (right trigger + right stick flick) to evade pressure effectively.

Catch Types: Turning 10 Yards into 30

The game gives you three catch options, each designed for specific scenarios:

Run After Catch (RAC): Use when your receiver has green grass ahead. Great for maximizing yardage.

Possession Catch: Perfect for sideline grabs or traffic situations where securing the ball is a priority.

Aggressive Catch: Best for one-on-one jump balls with high "spectacular catch" players, or high-point throws (LB/L1) to taller receivers.

Knowing which catch type to use often means the difference between punting and keeping the drive alive.

Smarter Playcalling

Remember: calling a screen doesn't lock you into throwing it. Watch how the defense reacts. If they blow it up, check your other routes-sometimes they're wide open.

Avoid deep lobs unless your receiver is at least even with the defender. Throwing into coverage with no leverage is just giving the ball away. Always ask: What's my best option here? Instead, I feel like forcing this post route.

Final Thoughts

Passing in College Football 26 can feel overwhelming at first, but once you master the basics-ball placement, reading defenses, managing the pocket-the game slows down dramatically. You'll move from chaotic drives filled with turnovers to methodical, efficient possessions that keep defenses guessing.

Practice these fundamentals, trust your progressions, and you'll start stringing together drives like a veteran quarterback. Having enough CFB 26 Coins can help you a lot.

Reading defenses is one of the most important skills in College Football 26. If you don't know what the defense is doing before the ball is snapped, you're playing blind-and that almost always leads to mistakes. Most players never learn this skill, but once you do, the game slows down, and you start making smarter throws and putting together consistent scoring drives.

Thanks to the EA Creator Network, I had exclusive early access to College Football 26, and today I'll teach you how to read any defense in three simple steps. By the end, you'll know how to diagnose coverages and how to attack each one for big plays. Having plenty of CUT 26 Coins will also help in achieving victory.

Step 1: Count the Safeties

The very first thing you should do before snapping the ball is count the safeties.

One high safety → Defense is likely in Cover 1 (man) or Cover 3 (zone).

Two high safeties → Defense is likely in Cover 2, Cover 4, or Cover 2 Man.

This quick observation immediately narrows down the possibilities and sets up your next read.

Step 2: Identify Man vs. Zone

Once you know how many safeties there are, you need to determine whether the defense is in man or zone coverage. The easiest way to do this is by using motion or a formation flip.

If a defender follows your receiver across the field, it's man coverage.

If the defender stays put or shifts zones instead of following, it's zone coverage.

Now you can pair this with the safety count:

One safety + man → Cover 1

One safety + zone → Cover 3

Two safeties + man → Cover 2 Man

Two safeties + zone → Cover 2 or Cover 4

Step 3: Check Cornerback Depth

If motion doesn't give you a clear answer, cornerback depth will. Look at the outside corners:

5–6 yards off the line → Cover 2

7–10 yards off the line → Cover 4

That simple three-step process-safeties, man vs. zone, corner depth-will correctly identify the defense 99% of the time. Many players even keep a flowchart handy as a reminder during games.

Advanced Looks: Cover 6 and Cover 9

While most of your opponents will stick to standard coverages, advanced players may mix in Cover 6 or Cover 9. Both are hybrid zone defenses with two safeties deep, but different rules depending on the strong and weak sides of the field.

Cover 6 → Strong side corner at 7–9 yards (Cover 4 look), weak side corner at 5–6 yards (Cover 2 look).

Cover 9 → The reverse: strong side corner at 5–6 yards, weak side corner at 7–9 yards.

If you can spot these hybrids, you'll be ahead of most players online.

How to Beat Every Coverage

Recognizing coverages is only half the battle. The real difference-maker is knowing how to attack them. Here's how to exploit each major defense in College Football 26:

Cover 3

Weaknesses: seams, flats under the deep zones, and space between safeties and corners.

Slot streaks attack the seams for big gains.

Corner routes from compressed sets hit between the flats and deep zones.

Fade routes with inside streaks pull defenders and leave you wide open downfield.

Cover 1

Weaknesses: inside-breaking routes.

Use slants, posts, drags, and in-routes.

These routes separate quickly, especially since Cover 1 defenders often shade outside.

Cover 2 Man

Weaknesses: out-breaking routes and unpressed players.

Zigs, outs, and stemmed corners win outside.

Tight ends and running backs are unpressed, so use them with crossers or Texas routes.

Cover 4 (Quarters)

Weaknesses: seams, flats under deep zones, and gaps between hooks and flats.

Slot streaks hit the seams early.

Corners and outs break just under the outside quarters.

Hitches, zigs, or returns paired with flat routes punish hook defenders.

Cover 2 (Zone)

Weaknesses: middle underneath, deep middle, and outside between safeties and flats.

Drags attack the mid-read linebacker underneath.

Streak + corner combos split the safeties for huge gains.

Outside corner routes consistently get open over the flats.

Hybrid Defenses (Cover 6 & 9)

Attack the Cover 2 side with corner routes or streaks.

Attack the Cover 4 side with seam streaks or flat pulls.

The key is recognizing which half of CUT 26 Coins for sale the field is vulnerable and targeting it.