How to Kick in College Football 25

While kicking has remained relatively unchanged in Madden for years, they've changed things up with a new kick mechanic in College Football 25 that will also be seen later this year in Madden 25. If you're looking to get some pinpoint accuracy on a punt or field goal, you'll need to know how each aspect of the new kicking meters operate. There are a few different ways to approach each kickoff, but most of all you want good power and to not shank the ball to either side of the field in College Football 25.

College Football 25 Kicking Controls

With a major change from recent years, College Football 25 has a new kicking mechanic and getting used to the meter will take a few tries. It's best to spend some time in Play Now, Ultimate Team Challenges, or Mini Games before diving into Dynasty Mode while you get used to all the College Football 25 controls.

No matter which kind of kick you're doing, you generally are using the Left Stick to shift the aim arrow left or right. Once it's pointed where you want, wait for the moving football to land in the green center of the bottom meter. If it lands far to the left or right, you're likely to shank the kick badly to either direction.

The tricky part which will take a few tries is the power arrow. After pressing A (on Xbox) or X (on PlayStation), you want to hold that button until the power arrow reaches the green near the top of the arrow. If you hold on too long, it can become overpowered and end up missing the kick or coming up very short on power. Shorter kicks like a PAT will fill that meter much faster than a kickoff might, so the timing will vary.

If you're doing a punt, press Y (on Xbox) or Triangle (on PlayStation) before the kick to do a Sky Kick and get more hangtime. Press RB (on Xbox) or R1 (on PlayStation) to return to a normal kick, and press LB (on Xbox) or L1 (on PlayStation) to make give the punt some backspin and prevent bounce when it hits the field.

You use the same controls on kickoff for a Sky Kick or normal kick, but LB (on Xbox) or L1 (on PlayStation) will instead do a squib kick. You won't really have adjustment options on a field goal, but that's the time when you'll want to play the closest attention to wind. Especially for long field goals, you'll need to account for wind or it could veer wide of the goalposts in College Football 25.