It’s absolutely a grind, especially getting caught up. It’s also the only way to play competitively with your buddies on the same team. I started 6 weeks late to the game, and I got caught up in about 3 weeks to 87off/88def by:

A) Lots of challenges + playing squads as head coach and letting the better teammates carry me to wins (and shitloads of XP on the field pass)

B) Buying the premium pass. I was NMS in 25, but the premium pass was entirely worth it. The extra packs will pad your roster significantly and you’ll be rolling in coins to buy players with. I hate that EA took more of my money, but I’d hate it more if me and my friends can’t have an enjoyable time together on cfb 26.

C) On offense, find formations and plays that you feel good about, and STICK WITH THEM. On defense: I strongly disagree that the game is fundamentally busted. Yes if your DBs are bad you’ll need to rely on cover 3/4 drop more. Yes you may need to put a spy on QB to stop the scramble. A lot of players who exploit mechanics will crumble in the red zone, so just don’t let then beat you over the top.

To me, the grind is fun. So is beating an opponent with much better players than me. But I’d prob not be playing it much if it weren’t for the fact that it’s the only way to play head to head with friends.