He removed all doubt. Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza has earned the coveted 99 overall rating in EA Sports College Football 26 after proving he's the best player in the country right now.
Mendoza led the Hoosiers to a 16-0 record en route to a National Championship and Heisman Trophy win for himself. He also ran for six touchdowns. We'll be discussing his Madden NFL rating really soon, since the junior has declared for the NFL draft.
🏆📈 Fernando Mendoza is officially a 99 OVR.
— EASPORTSCollege (@EASPORTSCollege) January 23, 2026
Replay his season for the books in #CFB26 today! @IndianaFootball pic.twitter.com/Z8DpnXmnQy
It capped a dream season for the once downtrodden Hoosier football program. Mendoza is the definition of a game changer, so him getting that 99 overall was a given. The next best players in CFB 26 are Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith at 98 and Miami defensive lineman Reuben Bain at 98 overall.
After the college football season ends, excitement for the video game wanes a bit. So EA has some exciting tournaments to keep players engaged. The Chipotle Challenger series runs through January 31 prizes including CFB 26 points and Chipotle product codes.
The EA Sports College Football Championship Blitz will include a chance to win a PlayStation 5 Pro. The tourney's Top 2 players will earn College Football Points to spend on in-game items like player card packs and cosmetics.
All players who complete a tournament earn a sweepstakes entry towards winning PlayStation hardware or accessories.
Each active PlayStation Plus account can win up to ten entries. Sweepstakes winners will be notified shortly after the tourney concludes. Five randomly selected players will win one of five PlayStation devices, including a PlayStation 5 Pro Console, PlayStation VR2, PlayStation Pulse wireless headset, PlayStation Portal, and DualSense Edge wireless controller.