Let’s be honest. EA Sports’ “NCAA Football” is my favorite video game franchise. Always has been and probably always will be.

And in the past, when “NCAA” has offered minimal innovation beyond a roster update, I’ve still purchased the game without ever doubting my choice. I’ve defended the game when it didn’t deserve it.

But this year’s title, “NCAA Football 11,” has a lot to love. It’s easily the best game in the franchise’s next-gen history, and I can finally say that objectively this year. EA’s pretty-but-never-beautiful stepchild to the “Madden” franchise took some big steps this year.

The first thing you’ll notice when playing is the game looks better than ever. The sky and the grass look real. The players don’t look plastic. A lot of these aesthetic improvements are due to a new lighting system and an emphasis on adding more realism to the game.

Along with that emphasis comes a new feature: pre-game entrances. EA paid attention to the details this year and wanted to stress tradition in this year’s version, so it added more than 30 authentic entrances.

Miami players run onto the field shrouded in smoke. Clemson plays touch Howard’s Rock. And yes, your Huskers touch the horseshoe to start their tunnel walk.

Don’t worry, the game isn’t all about visuals. Fans of the franchise tend to bemoan the gameplay of “NCAA 10” a bit, but it’s undoubtedly improved in the past year.

EA’s big emphasis was on authentic offenses -– making sure the option, the pistol, the spread and even the run-and-gun featured stronger playbooks. There’s even an excellent no-huddle offense feature that many fans will fall in love with. While those are nice, the real step forward “NCAA 11” makes is in the run game.

No longer do linemen stand around, needlessly engaging one defender until the play is over. Now they pull on tosses and feign pass blocks on draw plays. Easily the best run is now the counter play, thanks in large part to the blocking schemes. Even the zone read (it’s called option read on the game) now works like never before.

“NCAA Football” has always been too fast a game, but thanks to a slowing down of players and a repaired ratings system, not every player in the nation has game-changing breakaway speed. When virtual Roy Helu gets into the open field this year, he rarely outruns every defender.

Players actually have to reach top speed in order to break away this year, as opposed to running at the same speed the entire play. It’s a lot like the slowdown effect in last year’s “Madden” and is greatly appreciated.

But fear not, these offensive innovations don’t mean that playing defense is now impossible. Pass rush has gotten a little worse due to the improved blocking, but that’s to be expected. However, pass D got some fine-tuning, and it’s now no longer impossible to stop those frustrating slant routes. There’s also a QB contain audible defenses you can use to stop the Terrelle Pryors and Robert Griffins.

Looking for long-term playability? Try an online dynasty. It’s exceptional this year thanks to two features: the dynasty wire and new online features.

First off, you can now manage your online dynasty from your computer. Gamers can recruit high schoolers and check stats while sitting in that boring lecture class, and who doesn’t love that? The real reason the site was built, though, is dynasty wire.

If you’ve ever played in a competitive online dynasty, you know trash talk and bragging are commonplace. EA made this even easier.

After every dynasty game, “NCAA 11” loads pictures from the game onto its servers, and you can use those pictures to post slide shows and even write stories. You can boast about getting a big recruit or pay tribute to your star player. The online features come with a wide array of exciting possibilities.

The regular dynasty mode underwent one major change in recruiting: it’s now hard. Really hard. One must now plan how long their phone calls will last and are randomly assigned the call’s discussion topics. Plus, players are now willing to commit quickly once they fill up their interest bar.

It’s a big change for people like me who consider a good recruiting class one that features ten five-star prospects. My first recruiting class had two five-stars but was No. 60 in the nation. It’s frustrating at first, but “NCAA” devotees will adjust to the challenge.

In case you’re wondering how good Nebraska is on the game, “NCAA” says this is going to be a good year for the Huskers. NU is No. 9 in the nation on the game, and Helu and Rex Burkhead form a dominant duo when used effectively. Prince Amukamara, Jared Crick and Alex Henery are some of the best at their respective positions in the game.

For all the hype surrounding this year’s game, “NCAA 11” does have a few flaws. The audio commentary is not good (it never is), and as usual, there are little gameplay bugs –- like a play-action halfback screen play in which your quarterback runs backwards 40 yards for some reason –- that should be fixed quickly by a patch from EA.

The biggest issue I have with this year’s version is actually that it didn’t give gamers more. That’s how video games in an noncompetitive market work, I know. But dynasty and campus legend mode did not change much, and I think it’s safe to say EA’s next step should be adding more authentic career modes.
I want real coaches and assistants (it’s not impossible; “NCAA Basketball” had them). I want a postseason coaching carousel like the one we see in real life. I want an actual Heisman presentation, an actual signing day and spring football.

It may seem like that’s asking for a lot, but it’s not. Add those features and gamers will be hooked for years.

But the fact that a gamer would ask for these is a good sign. It means the foundation is set — that the next-gen transition is over. “NCAA Football 11” is a great game, and it can only get better from here.