EA Sports College Football 27 has its first-ever 99-rated player at launch, but there is also a big green machine laced through the rest of the game’s top player list at launch.
Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith sits at the top, and fairly so. He is one of the most exciting players in college football and becomes the first player in the series to launch with a 99 overall rating. Smith is a likely a name you will behearing a lot of over the next decade, and it all starts hee.
The thing that jumps out after that, though, is Oregon. The Ducks have five players in the top 10, including the highest-rated quarterback in the game, one of the best pass rushers, an elite center, a transfer safety, and another defensive lineman. If the ratings are anything to go by, Oregon is not just good in EA Sports College Football 27; it looks like one of the most stacked teams in the entire game. Maybe it gets nerfed, maybe not.
Here are the top 10 highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football 27.
Highest-rated players in EA Sports College Football 27
1. WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State – 99 OVR
No real shock here. Jeremiah Smith is arguably the most talented player in college football, and EA has not tried to be subtle about it.
Smith becomes the first player in College Football history to launch with a 99 overall rating, which is a pretty big deal.
Last season, Smith caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns across 13 games. He was named Big Ten Receiver of the Year for the second straight season and earned unanimous All-American honours.
Ohio State might not dominate this list in the same way Oregon does, but it does have the single highest-rated player in the game.
2. OL Carter Smith, Indiana – 97 OVR
Carter Smith is College Football 27’s highest-rated offensive lineman, coming in at a huge 97 overall.
He has ratings above 90 in strength, injury, and awareness, making him one of the safest and most dominant players you can have protecting the quarterback or opening lanes in the run game.
Smith was named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year last season and was also a consensus All-American. He helped Indiana complete an undefeated season and win the national title. A big player for a big season ahead.
3. OL Kade Pieper, Iowa – 95 OVR
Kade Pieper is the best center in EA Sports College Football 27, and his top attribute is awareness, where he has a massive 98 rating.
He also has a 96 injury rating, so if you are the sort of player who builds from the line rather than just chasing five-star receivers and quarterbacks, Pieper is exactly the kind of player you want anchoring the offense.
Last season, Pieper was selected to the All-Big Ten Third Team and helped Iowa win the Joe Moore Award, given to the best offensive line group in college football.
4. QB Dante Moore, Oregon – 95 OVR
And now Oregon starts to take over.
Dante Moore was expected by some to head to the NFL, but he announced in January that he would return to Oregon for the 2026 season. That decision also makes him the highest-rated quarterback in College Football 27.
Moore completed 71.8 percent of his passes last season for 3,565 yards and 30 touchdowns, playing a major role in Oregon’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
A 95-rated quarterback is dangerous enough on its own. Put him on a roster with this much talent around him, and Oregon starts to look like the kind of team that will be banned between friends after one too many unfair online games.
5. QB Julian Sayin, Ohio State – 94 OVR
Julian Sayin gives Ohio State another elite player near the very top of the ratings.
He started at quarterback last season and helped the Buckeyes reach the playoff quarterfinals, throwing for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns across 14 games while completing 77 percent of his passes.
Sayin was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and finished as a Heisman Trophy finalist, so a 94 overall rating feels about right for one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the country.
6. OLB Matayo Uiagalelei, Oregon – 94 OVR
Oregon’s second player in the top 10 is Matayo Uiagalelei, who comes in at 94 overall.
He joined the Ducks in 2023 and enters the 2026 season as one of the more experienced players on the roster. Last year, he recorded 34 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks.
Uiagalelei was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention and was also a semifinalist for the Lombardi Award. In College Football 27, he should be one of the Ducks’ biggest defensive weapons.
7. C Iapani Laloulu, Oregon – 93 OVR
Oregon’s third player in the top 10 is center Iapani Laloulu, and this is where the Ducks start to look properly frightening.
It is one thing to have the highest-rated quarterback in the game. It is another to also have one of the best centers in front of him.
Laloulu has a 93 awareness rating, a 93 injury rating, and a 96 strength rating, making him one of the best offensive linemen in the game. He was a key part of Oregon’s run to the College Football Playoff semifinal and was selected to the FWAA All-American First Team.
He was also a semifinalist for the Outland Trophy, underlining just how strong Oregon looks in the trenches.
8. S Koi Perich, Oregon – 93 OVR
Koi Perich joins Oregon after spending the 2025 season at Minnesota, and EA clearly expects him to make an immediate impact.
The safety comes into College Football 27 with a 93 overall rating after a strong season in the Big Ten. At Minnesota last year, Perich finished with 82 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, and an interception returned for a touchdown.
He was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team by both the media and the AP, and his arrival gives Oregon yet another elite-rated player in a key position.
9. DL A’Mauri Washington, Oregon – 93 OVR
At this point, the top 10 starts to feel less like a national ratings list and more like an Oregon depth chart.
A’Mauri Washington is the Ducks’ fifth player in the top 10, coming in at 93 overall. He has been with Oregon since 2023 and heads into the new season as one of the leaders on the defensive line.
Last year, Washington registered 33 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and eight pass breakups. He was also selected to the All-Big Ten Third Team.
With Washington, Uiagalelei, Laloulu, Moore, and Perich all rated this highly, Oregon looks loaded on both sides of the ball.
10. QB Jayden Maiava, USC — 92 OVR
Rounding out the top 10 is USC quarterback Jayden Maiava, who enters the 2026 season as one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
Maiava joined the Trojans after spending the 2023 and 2024 seasons at UNLV, and he made a strong impression last year.
Across 13 games, he threw for 3,711 yards and 24 touchdowns. He was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team and was a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award.
USC gets a top-10 quarterback, Ohio State gets the 99-rated superstar, and Indiana and Iowa both get elite offensive linemen. But in terms of sheer volume, this list belongs to Oregon.
EA Sports College Football 27’s top ratings are not just saying the Ducks are good. They are saying Oregon might be absolutely horrible to play against.
Authored by
Paul McNally
Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title. Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm.
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