| | Operation Sports:NCAA Football 06: Race for the Heisman By Shawn Drotar, Managing Editor, OperationSports.com
From the first moment your Xbox® boots up your copy of Electronic Arts' NCAA® Football 06, you are placed right in the thick of the latest mode of EA's long-running college football series: Race for the Heisman.
After entering your last name, you're thrust into the role of a prep football star. After your coach gives you and your teammates a pep talk, you're prompted to select what position you play. Since Heisman Trophies don't traditionally get awarded to tight ends, offensive linemen, kickers, and punters, those positions aren't selectable. Next, depending on your chosen position, you are chosen to participate in a drill that shows off your particular skills for that role.
There's no pressure to perform in these drills—after all, they only determine which schools will offer you a scholarship, a starting spot, and a chance at gridiron glory. So who am I kidding, there's a ton of pressure! 
Head for the Heisman!
Once you've completed your drills, you are offered three scholarships. Depending on how well you've done, you might get an offer from football cellar-dwellers like the lowly Golden Panthers of Florida International University or from the elite football factories of Oklahoma or Tennessee, or even the defending National Champions, the mighty Trojans or USC. If none of the schools suit you, your player can choose to walk on to any other school in the game.
After you enroll in a school, you fill out the rest of your player's information and then visit your Dorm Room, your home away from home and the nerve center of your burgeoning college career. Of course, you can expect to see your room decked out in school colors, but within, there are six menus that give you complete control over your college football experience. You see your team's schedule, of course, and you can preview any team on your docket or check the recap of any game played this season by any team with the Schedule menu.
The Newsletter keeps track of your school's progress with headlines and photos of your team's stars every week, and the Closet displays all the stats and awards you've accumulated over the course of your career. The Playbook menu takes you to your position's practice drill so you can stay sharp between games, and the Computer is your gateway to the rest of the NCAA Football world. You can access all the pertinent stats for your team and its players, as well as the same information about every other team in the country. You can also check the latest top 25 polls, conference standings, and players of the week, as well as the "Heisman Watch," the reason you're playing.
As your career progresses, hopefully the wins and great performances keep coming. If so, you notice the "Heisman Hype" meter grow atop the Dorm Room's upper right corner. You also notice your Fan Mail menu has more and more letters inside it for you to browse, and the Trophy Crate holds all the hardware you've earned over the years. 
Can you become an Impact Player?
On the field, it's critical to perform as well as you can, but never sacrifice the team's well-being for your own stats. The Heisman voters like winners, so getting a victory is more important than racking up big numbers. As your career progresses, your player gets better, and with a little luck, he becomes an "Impact Player" and one of the greatest players in the game. After your career ends (hopefully with the coveted Heisman Trophy in tow), you're able to take on the best the NFL has to offer by importing your player into Madden™ NFL 06. If the college world is where you want to stay, however, you have the option to take over your alma mater as its new head coach and enter the game's robust Dynasty mode from that point.
Race for the Heisman mode takes you from high school through the college years, on to the NFL, and even beyond. So throw on the old university sweatshirt, grab an Xbox controller, and prepare to set foot on campus with EA's NCAA Football 06!
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