There are a few different factors that go into your offensive success inCollege Football 26, and some of them are more obvious than others. The first thing that most people are going to consider is their players, and that is possibly the most important aspect of your success.

But what’s almost as important is your playbook. Your playbook is the skeleton on which your offense is built, with players and performance all hinging on the right plays being called at the right time. With a playbook that fits your team, you’re able to have immense success. With the wrong playbook, you’ll underperform.

Pro Style

The Pro Style offensive playbook is going to be one of the most familiar to those who have played a lot of Madden. It’s got awide variety of different formationsrequiring a wide selection of good players, but the plays are going to be a little bit less creative than those in certain other playbooks.

Strengths

Weaknesses

This playbook canhandle any situation in a variety of ways. There are a lot of formations, ranging from Single Back to I Form to Gun. These formations can be used in a lot of different situations, and if played well, you can keep yourself from being predictable.

This offensedoes not have some of the specific options that more focused playbooks have. For instance, it cannot function as an option-style offense, and you won’t have the Gun options for a fully spread-style offense. It also requires skilled personnel in a variety of positions, instead of just a couple of key players.

Multiple

The Multiple offense is like a sampler. It has possiblymore possibilities than any other playbook, offering appetizers to just about anything. It’s a good way to incorporate a wide variety of players into an offense, and it can be extremely unpredictable to play against.

Possibly the greatest strength of this playbook is itsability to pivot at a moment’s notice. You can try out a huge variety of things against a team until something proves that it exploits a weakness. Once that happens, you can keep focusing on it, with the freedom to still switch it up if you need to.

There aren’t really too many weaknesses to speak of here. While it does have a lot of formations, itdoes lack a big focus on any one thing, making it difficult to hammer home on specific gameplay.

Oregon

Oregon’s playbook has an interestingmix of power-running, spread-running, and passing options. It does require some skilled players to have success and does not create success with just one scheme. But, with the right team, it can create some dangerous scenarios for defenses.

It hasplenty of options for the pass and the run, with both heavy and Gun formations. With a few key skill position players, it can be a lethal playbook.

Teams thatdon’t have at least a couple of different playmakers at either QB, RB, WR, or TE aren’t going to be able to manufacture successwith this playbook. This is a tool to get the most out of already good players, not a tool to turn average players into superstars.

UNLV

The UNLV playbook is a kind ofpower-spread idea, with a lot of power-running possibilities from a Gun formation. It also takes into account that this is going to cause opponents to start run-blitzing, and has a lot of quick-passing and screen options to get behind the blitz.

Spreads the defense out with a lot of three-wide sets, but is still capable of running the ball inside these sets.Defenses are going to need to get creative with their playcalling to stop the run, leaving them open against certain passing plays.

Against a team with a couple of strong LBs, this playbook might struggle. These LBs are going to be capable of stuffing the run without blitzing, and will often recognize when you’re trying to get them to bite on a play-action or a screen.

Oklahoma

If you’re looking torun your offense entirely out of the Gun, this playbook is going to be a must-look. It’s a one-trick pony, except this pony has hidden quite a few smaller tricks inside that one trick, and it can actually do a lot with them.

While it only has one formation, it has a ton of different sets in the Gun. You aren’t going to be hurting for play variety, as long as the play you’re looking for is in the Gun.With a good QB and a few great-to-solid WRs, you may make a lot of things happen with this playbook.

This playbookrequires a competent QB, a few different WRs that can get open, and an offensive line that can pass block proficiently. Without all three of these, it’s going to fall short, because it relies on all of these factors on nearly every single play.

Option

If you wantan option offense, this playbook is going to provide you with a wider variety of options than any other. It might not have the specific tools or plays that other offenses have, but it has a ton of formations, sets, and plays that make use of players in the option.

This is agreat offense for hiding a QB with little throwing ability, but with legs. It has very creative run-blocking schemes and plays, and with an offensive line that likes to hit people and RBs that can make things happen, it can take you surprisingly far.

This playbookrequires a couple of things, one of which is a QB that can run. Your offensive line also needs to be able to run block, and an ability to swing out and lead block for players is going to make a huge difference.

Illinois

Illinois playbook is kind of like amix of the Pro Style playbook with some of the flavor and charm that a college playbook can have, still. It has the variety and possibilities that give the Pro Style playbook such a high ceiling, but some of the fun stuff that keeps a college playbook feeling fresh.

You canrun a variety of different gameplans through this playbook, including power-running and spread. Its strength lies in its versatility, and you’ll want to be able to make use of the whole playbook in order to make the most of it.

This playbook is ajack-of-all-trades, master of none situation. It can do most things you’re going to want it to do, but if you find one very specific thing that works against a team, you aren’t going to have a ton of options when it comes to exploiting that weakness.

Pistol

Similar to Oklahoma’s playbook being all about the Gun, this playbook isall about the Pistol. The Pistol formation gives you a bit more versatility than the Gun, while being a little bit more susceptible to the pass rush.

This playbook can be asafe one for a young QB with a high ceiling to use and gain a lot of XP toward improving. There are a lot of easy completions here, and if you have WRs that can make things happen after the catch, it can be a very successful playbook.

Without a few solid WRs, this playbook is going to struggle. You’ll also either need to have an offensive line that can pass block, or else a RB that provides competent pass-blocking support. Some teams are going to pin their ears back and blitz this playbook like crazy, and if they have good press-coverage corners, it can be difficult to combat.