707 team passing yards leader is what Alberto Mendoza has put on film since landing at Georgia Tech — the bet is starting to settle.
6′2″ · 215 lb · Miami, FL · Christopher Columbus H.S.
The numbers
passing yards · 2026 · through week 3
3 games into 2026 so far
Swing playSwung Tennessee from 34% to 62% to win.Tennessee at Georgia Tech · 45-24
His career numbers, season by seasonThe story
Junior quarterback for Georgia Tech. 2026: 3 games with a box-score line.
How he plays
Operates within the system without forcing anything.
Explosive rate: 76th percentile.
The full scouting readBuzz vs Tape
The wider college football conversation reads him warmer than his own fans do — a gap of 24.5 points in belief.
Also worth knowing:
“Hold up…. Athlon sports got Notre Lame, Tejas, and a Fernando Mendoza less Indiana squad over the Canes in the Preseason? Ok. submitted by /u/NoCow8702 [link] [comments]”
Alberto Mendoza
Alberto Mendoza arrives at Georgia Tech with a new fit to prove and an old chapter behind him.
TEAM PASSING YARDS LEADER
707
Team leader in passing yards (707).
Georgia Tech fans can't agree whether the tape backs the reputation.
Minority viewA vocal minority sees it the other way.
AI-generated narrative · may contain errors · not journalism · updated 2026-09-22
His career
Career arc
Badges
Coaching lineage · 2024–2026
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Brent Key.
Where He Ended Up · Transfer
Transferred to Georgia Tech
| Season | Team | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Georgia Tech | 58 | 84 | 69.0% | 707 | 8.4 | 4 | 2 | 150.7 | 56 | -- | -- |
| 2025 | Indiana | 18 | 24 | 75.0% | 286 | 11.9 | 5 | 1 | 235.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | Indiana | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 150.4 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 77 | 109 | 70.6% | 999 | 9.2 | 9 | 3 | 169.4 | 56 | -- | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Georgia Tech | 11 | -43 | -3.9 | 0 | -- |
| 2025 | Indiana | 13 | 190 | 14.6 | 1 | -- |
| 2024 | Indiana | 2 | -3 | -1.5 | 0 | -- |
| Career | 26 | 144 | 5.5 | 1 | -- |
Game by game
Point color shows the opponent's defensive strength that week (red = weaker defense, blue = stronger) — dashed line is this player's own season average.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 3 games
| Wk | Opp | CMP/ATT | YDS | TD | INT | YPA | QBR | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 13-14vs Colorado | 17/23 | 237 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 | 78.0 | |
| Wk 2 | L 24-45vs Tennessee | 26/40 | 221 | 1 | 2 | 5.5 | 35.7 | |
| Wk 3 | W 44-11vs Mercer | 15/21 | 249 | 3 | 0 | 11.9 | 82.2 | Season-high 249 yds |
| Total | 58/84 | 707 | 4 | 2 | 9.2 | 65.3 |
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 3 · 2026
W 44–11
vs Mercer
249 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 82.2 · -8 rush yds (1 car)
Dominant 33-point win at home against Mercer.
With A. Bacchetta — 51.3 yards per punt · 4 punts · 1 inside the 20 · J. Haynes — 141 rush yds (22 car) · 2 TD
Signature plays · top plays by |EPA|
The plays that mattered most
Since week 2: +249 passing yards, +3 passing TD.
Season context · Team result + system
Where this profile ranks vs the QB cohort
Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles
Concern: sack rate (10th percentile).
Real play-by-play efficiency
Season trend
Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).
Pass Profile · True throw depth (charted plays)
Adjusted ANY/A, sack rate, and where the yards came from
Adjusted ANY/A
6.9673 of 126 QBsSack rate
8.7%112 of 126 QBsSacked on 8.7% of dropbacks (112 of 126) and Adjusted ANY/A trails the field (73 of 126).
Adjusted ANY/A uses full-season box-score totals (attempts, yards, TDs, INTs); sack rate is play-by-play-derived.
Behind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
Overall 69.0% completion on 84 attempts · 53% of attempts thrown 0–9 air yds.
Zeitgeist Passer Rating
2026 · our own passing-efficiency number, shown next to the 1979 formula it does not replace.
Thin sample: 84 dropbacks56Zeitgeist Passer Ratingnot ranked until 125 dropbacks
--NCAA passer ratingno box-score line yet
Positive-play rate weight 24%
50.0%82th pct of FBS QBsshare of dropbacks that gained expected points · -2.4% schedule adj.Yards per attempt weight 56%
8.2188th pct of FBS QBssacks excluded · -0.7 schedule adj.Sack rate weight 21% (penalty)
9.7%3th pct of FBS QBsthe input passer rating cannot see · +0.2% schedule adj.Opponent-adjusted; garbage time excluded (7 of 91 dropbacks dropped). 50 = FBS average; the number is pulled toward 50 when the sample is thin. Scaled against the 2025 FBS population until enough 2026 QBs qualify. How ZPR is built.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 3 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home3g | 236 | 1.3 | 9.2 | 0.7 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | TD/g | YPA | INT/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-73g | 236 | 1.3 | 9.2 | 0.7 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Key
Pass share
46.7%
85 pass / 97 run
Plays / game
60.7
3 games
Scheme: Run-leaning, slow tempo.
Player standing · 2026
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Play style
Operates within the system without forcing anything.
CFB Index positional classification
The No. 1,576 recruit in the country is starting at quarterback in the ACC as a junior.
Player DNA
Balanced passer who operates within the system, without one standout number carrying the profile.
His 2026 production profile sits closest to Andrew Ford’s 2018 season.
Matches Andrew on
Differs from Andrew on
Through 1 college season, his career arc tracks closest to Cameron Ward’s path through Miami.
Matches Cameron on
As a junior, his production profile tracks closest to Dylan Lonergan's junior season at Boston College (2025).
Matches Dylan on
Differs from Dylan on