Picking the right playbook can be a daunting task when you first load up College Football 26, as each program has its own unique takes on offensive strategy. But, to help you get started, here are our picks for the five best playbooks in CFB 26, whether you like to run, pass, or a little bit of both.
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#5: Oklahoma – Pure Spread
Oklahoma has a pure spread playbook that features a lot of popular spread passing formations like the Double Stack. They only have Shotgun formations, which helps to simplify at least that part of the decision making, and should be a nice offensive playbook to get your feet wet with a classic Spread offense.
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#4: Iowa – Pure Pro Style
Iowa is one of the few Pro Style offenses in the game, exemplifying Big 10 ground-and-pound football. You will have some Shotgun options should you still want to air it out, but their bread and butter is the run game. So expect to run heavily in the Power I and I Form formations with this playbook.
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#3: Oregon – Balanced Attack
The Ducks’ playbook, in a lot of ways, is a great balance between a Pro Style and a Spread, giving players tons of flexibility with how they approach their offense. You’ll have Pistol, I Form, and Shotgun formations at your disposal, with some of the popular Shotgun iterations from ’25 included. All in all, Oregon has always been known for their offense, so running their playbook in College Football 26 is a no-brainer.
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#2: Wake Forest – Slow Mesh
Wake Forest has one of the most unique playbooks in College Football 26, utilizing the slow mesh. If you love an RPO-heavy offense where you are the maestro of quick decisions, then Wake’s playbook might be for you.
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#1: Rice – Spread Option
To me, Rice has the most enticing playbook in all of College Football 26. It only features Pistol and Shotgun formations, but the emphasis is on pre-snap motion and the Option. This gives you a ton of misdirection and makes running feel incredible, which has otherwise felt pretty challenging. If you are comfortable experimenting a bit, this is one of the most rewarding playbooks you can try in CFB 26.
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Stay tuned for more CFB 26 news and updates, here at The Game Haus!
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