Determining Defenses
The success or failure of an offense play is largely determined by the type of defense one is facing. In "NCAA Football 08," there is a simple way to determine what kind of defense the other team is employing. Send a wide receiver in motion; if the corner covering him follows him to the other side of the formation, the defense is lined up in man-to-man coverage. If the corner stays on his side of the field, the defense is lined up in zone coverage. Knowing the particular type of coverage allows for you to change your receiver's hot route to more successful routes.
Overloading Blitzes
Stopping the pass in "NCAA Football 08" is generally attributed to pressuring the opposing team's quarterback. To help provide pressure on the quarterback, shift your defensive line to overload a particular side. For example, if you are blitzing your left outside linebacker, slide your defensive line left to overload that side. To further add pressure, if your corners are of comparable skill with the opposing team's receivers, place them in bump-and-run coverage so that they are stalled at the line, providing more time for your blitz to be successful.
Play Action
Defenses in "NCAA Football 08" are susceptible to play action fakes, particularly on third or fourth and short. A particularly successful play is found in the goal-line formation. If you use this formation, select a play-action pass. Really any of the passes will do. Hot route your third tight end to run a go pattern. Hot route your other two tight ends to pass protect. Because your third tight end is covered by a corner, a play action fake will hold him long to send your tight end uncovered down the field. To make this play more successful, in the goal-line formation, assign the third tight end position to one of your faster players so that he can get further down the field unmarked.