Last summer was a monumental one for the sport of college football.
The old generation was reunited with and the new generation was introduced to a college football video game. After 11 years in hibernation, the passing of NIL legislation ultimately made way for EA Sports to produce a college football video game again.
EA Sports College Football 25 was a resounding success, and now the game will be released on an annual basis. On July 7, EA Sports College Football 26 first became available to the public, implementing new features and showcasing updated rosters.
What does the Mid-American Conference look like in EA Sports CFB 26? The team ratings and players overalls are listed below:
Team Ratings
Team
Overall
Offense
Defense
Team
Overall
Offense
Defense
Toledo
78
76
78
Buffalo
77
75
78
Western Michigan
73
69
68
Central Michigan
72
66
76
Miami (OH)
72
71
70
Ohio
72
73
64
Bowling Green
72
71
64
Eastern Michigan
72
71
64
Northern Illinois
70
64
68
UMass
69
66
64
Akron
69
67
60
Ball State
68
67
60
Kent State
68
62
64
Toledo leads all 13 MAC programs with an overall of 78, ranked one point ahead of Buffalo. On the other end, Ball State and Kent State are tied for the lowest rated teams on the entire game at 68 overall.
Program Prestige
Each program is assigned a “prestige” value on a star system. The highest rated programs including perennial playoff contenders Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio State are labeled 5 stars. Conversely, lower rated programs, such as recent FBS additions Kennesaw State and Delaware, are labeled 1 star.
Program prestige plays a key role in recruiting in the game’s “Dynasty Mode.” Below is each MAC program’s prestige rating. No MAC program is rated higher than 2 stars — the prestige given to Miami (OH). Two MAC programs — Akron and Kent State — are given 0.5 stars, a prestige level which wasn’t present in EA Sports CFB 25.
Program Prestige
Team
Prestige (☆)
Team
Prestige (☆)
Miami (OH)
2
Bowling Green
1.5
Central Michigan
1.5
Eastern Michigan
1.5
Northern Illinois
1.5
Ohio
1.5
Toledo
1.5
UMass
1.5
Western Michigan
1.5
Ball State
1
Buffalo
1
Akron
0.5
Kent State
0.5
Compared to CFB 25:
Miami (OH) upgraded from 1.5 to 2 stars
Akron downgraded from 1.5 to 0.5 stars
Buffalo downgraded from 1.5 to 1 star
Kent State downgraded from 1 to 0.5 stars
Player Ratings
The 10 highest rated players by overall are listed below for each MAC program.
Akron
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Jake Newell
TE
82
Taven Curry
HB
79
Alex Adams
WR
76
Jordan Gant
HB
75
Chris Gee
HB
75
Gage Summers
MIKE
75
Conner Cravaack
TE
74
Ben Finley
QB
74
Cyrus Durham
LEDG
74
Mekhi Flowers
FS
74
Ball State
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Qua Ashley
HB
81
Qian Magwood
WR
76
Kiael Kelly
QB
75
Tremaine Ferguson*
HB
75
Willizhuan Yates
CB
75
Elijah Jackson
HB
74
Chris Hood
LT
74
TJ Horton
HB
74
Joey Stemler
MIKE
74
Maximus Webster
TE
73
* Tremaine Ferguson is not a real person
Bowling Green
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Nate Pabst
RT
79
Alex Padgett
RG
79
Arlis Boardingham
TE
78
Drew Pyne
QB
77
Tunde Fatukasi
LT
77
John Henderson
P
77
Darius Lorfils
SS
76
Chris McMillian
HB
75
RJ Garcia II
WR
75
JoJo Johnson
CB
75
Buffalo
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Red Murdock
MIKE
90
Al-Jay Henderson
HB
88
Kobe Stewart
REDG
85
Victor Snow
WR
84
Dion Crawford
WILL
83
Solomon Brown
FS
83
Tyler Doty
RG
83
Trevor Brock
LG
80
Marquis Cooper
CB
77
Nik McMillan
WR
77
Central Michigan
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Jordan Kwiatkowski
MIKE
85
Michael Heldman
REDG
80
Dakota Cochran
WILL
80
Caleb Spann
SS
80
Trey Cornist
HB
77
Tyson Davis
WR
77
Kalen Carroll
CB
77
Nahree Biggins
HB
77
Brady Ploucha
RG
76
DeCorion Temple
TE
76
Eastern Michigan
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Mickey Rewolinski
LG
87
Terry Lockett Jr.
WR
82
Dontae McMillan
HB
80
James Jointer Jr.
HB
78
Jefferson Adam
REDG
77
Nick Harris
TE
77
Dramarian McNulty
CB
77
Mitchell Tomasek
P
77
Tyrell Martin
DT
76
Joshua Anderson
RT
76
Kent State
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Gavin Garcia
HB
80
Jordan Nubin
HB
80
CJ Young
SS
75
Antoine Campbell Jr.
LEDG
75
Mattheus Carroll
REDG
74
Junior Diallo
LT
73
Dustyn Morell
RG
73
Dimitri Irwin*
FS
73
Canaan Williams
WILL
73
Ayden Harris
HB
72
* Dimitri Irwin is not a real person
Miami (OH)
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Eli Blakey
FS
85
Silas Walters
SS
84
Dequan Finn
QB
82
Dom Dzioban
K
82
Kenny Tracy
HB
81
Jordan Brunson
HB
78
Greg Smith Jr.
LG
77
Mychal Yharbrough
SS
77
Corban Hondru
WILL
76
Deion Colzie
WR
76
Northern Illinois
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Jacob Finley
CB
83
Telly Johnson Jr.
HB
80
Jalonnie Williams
LEDG
79
Jaylen Poe
HB
79
Evan Malcore
LT
79
Andrew Glass
K
78
DeSean Maze*
HB
77
Muhammed Jammeh
SS
75
Jake Appleget
TE
74
Justin Lynch
HB
74
Ohio
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
DJ Walker
FS
83
Sieh Bangura
HB
82
Parker Navarro
QB
81
Tank Pearson
CB
81
Jalen Thomeson
FS
79
Davion Weatherspoon
LT
78
Chase Hendricks
WR
78
Mason Williams
TE
77
Adonis Williams Jr.
SS
77
Andres Dewerk
LT
75
Toledo
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
SS
90
Junior Vandeross III
WR
86
Avery Smith
CB
84
Terrence Moore
C
84
Nasir Bowers
CB
84
Trayvon Rudolph
WR
84
Chip Trayanum
HB
83
Tucker Gleason
QB
80
Malachi Davis
LEDG
79
Anthony Dunn Jr.
LEDG
79
UMass
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Juwaun Price
HB
80
T.Y. Harding
WR
80
Rocko Griffin
HB
79
Tim Grant-Randall
DT
77
Brandon Hood
HB
76
Derrieon Craig
WILL
76
Cookie Desiderio
HB
76
Da’Marion Alberic
HB
76
Kendall Bournes
FS
74
Sullivan Weidman
RG
74
Western Michigan
Player
Position
Overall
Player
Position
Overall
Jalen Buckley
HB
87
Blake Bosma
TE
84
Tate Hallock
SS
82
Raheem Anderson
C
80
Popeye Williams
LEDG
78
Tyson Lee
REDG
77
Christian Leary
WR
77
Cole Cabana
HB
77
Tailique Williams
WR
76
Cade Conley
TE
76
Top Players in the MAC
Buffalo middle linebacker Red Murdock and Toledo strong safety Emmanuel McNeil-Warren are the highest rated players in the MAC at 90 overall. Nine MAC players received a rating of 85 or greater.
MAC Players with Overalls 85+
Player
Team
Position
Overall
Player
Team
Position
Overall
Red Murdock
Buffalo
MIKE
90
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren
Toledo
SS
90
Al-Jay Henderson
Buffalo
HB
88
Mickey Rewolinski
Eastern Michigan
LG
87
Jalen Buckley
Western Michigan
HB
87
Junior Vandeross III
Toledo
WR
86
Kobe Stewart
Buffalo
REDG
85
Jordan Kwiatkowski
Central Michigan
MIKE
85
Eli Blakey
Miami (OH)
FS
85