College Football 26 confirms new mascots, other presentation details

Following its deep dive into College Football 26's gameplay, EA Sports has also given fans insight into the improvements made to the game's presentation. CFB 26's lighting system will correctly simulate regional and seasonal time of day, ensuring that matches taking place across the country will look the way they should depending on their location and timing -- an afternoon in Washington will look different from one in Texas, games held in November will see the sun go down more quickly than ones taking place two months earlier, and so forth.

Pregame runouts will be more dynamic as well: A primetime game against big rivals will trigger an epic runout, which might include fireworks or drone shows, while more regular matches without the extra context will feature more modest festivities.

Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Nebraska, South Carolina, Tennessee, NC State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Texas State, UCF, Boston College, Notre Dame, Rutgers and UCLA will make use of light shows on occasion, while Arizona State, Cal, Florida, LSU, Texas, Ohio State, Clemson and Nebraska field celebratory drones.

Tradition, of course, is not forgotten: Regular runouts for the likes of Ohio and Utah are led by motorcycles, while South Carolina has its iconic Cockaboose.

In Road to Glory, on the other hand, runouts focus on the player's own athlete, beginning with them accompanying their team deep down in the tunnel to offer a more intimate and intense experience.

Naturally, band formations, music and mascots are all part of the pageantry as well. In addition to the mascots featured in last year's game, CFB 26 adds the following:

• Utah Utes -- Swoop

• Iowa Hawkeyes -- Herky the Hawk

• Arkansas Razorbacks -- Big Red

• Duke Blue Devils -- Blue Devil

• Kansas Jayhawks -- Big Jay

• Kansas State Wildcats -- Willie the Wildcat

• Mississippi State Bulldogs -- Bully the Bulldog

• Boise State Broncos -- Buster Bronco

• Boston College Eagles -- Baldwin the Eagle

• Louisville Cardinals -- Louie the Cardinal

• Pittsburgh Panthers -- Roc the Panther

• SMU Mustangs -- Peruna

• Army Black Knights -- Mules

• Navy Midshipmen -- Bill the Goat

• NC State Wolfpack -- Mrs. Wuf

• Ohio Bobcats -- Rufus the Bobcat

• East Carolina Pirates -- PeeDee the Pirate

• South Florida Bulls -- Rocky the Bull

• Northwestern Wildcats -- Willie the Wildcat

• Washington State Cougars -- Butch T. Cougar

• Oregon State Beavers -- Benny Beaver

• Rutgers Scarlet Knights -- Scarlet Knight

• Kentucky Wildcats -- Scratch the Wildcat

• Missouri Tigers -- Truman the Tiger

• Air Force Falcons -- The Bird

• Arizona Wildcats -- Wilbur and Wilma Wildcat

• Baylor Bears -- Bruiser the Bear

• Cincinnati Bearcats -- Lucille

• Houston Cougars -- Shasta the Cougar

• Iowa State Cyclones -- Cy the Cardinal

• Texas Tech Red Raiders -- Masked Rider and Raider Red

• Akron Zips -- Zippy the Kangaroo

• Bowling Green Falcons -- Freddie

• Wyoming Cowboys -- Pistol Pete

• Colorado State Rams -- CAM the Ram

• Coastal Carolina Chanticleers -- Chauncey the Chanticleer

• Pop-Tarts Bowl mascot

In addition to runouts and mascots, certain touchdown and turnover traditions make their way into the game, among them are Akron's Turnover Tire, TCU's Frog Horns and Oklahoma State's Paddles.

A greater variety of player models, uniform options and the arrival of real-life head coaches further improve authenticity.

For a more detailed breakdown, interested fans can visit the official EA blog.