ESPN overhauls FPI Top 25 rankings after surprise-filled Week 13 of college football

On3 imageby:Jonathan Wagner11/27/22

Jonathan Wagner

The regular season has now come and gone in college football. This weekend, we watched the final true week of the regular season, with just conference championships separating us between bowl season. The action across Week 13 featured plenty of upsets and important matchups, and ESPN’s FPI Top 25 rankings have been overhauled as a result.

The biggest matchup of the weekend was undoubtedly The Game between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan, and the Wolverines pulled away late and won 45-23. Additionally, No. 5 LSU lost 38-23 against Texas A&M and No. 8 Clemson fell against a surging South Carolina team, 31-30. Those games all had drastic impacts on the College Football Playoff, though they were far from the only upsets.

In addition, No. 6 USC further strengthened its position in the CFP race by beating No. 15 Notre Dame, 38-27.

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No. 9 Oregon held a big lead over No. 21 Oregon State, but the Beavers mounted an incredible comeback to knock off the Ducks. No. 18 North Carolina dropped its game against rival NC State, with the Wolfpack winning 30-27. No. 20 Ole Miss also lost against Mississippi State while No. 23 Coastal Carolina was completely blown out against James Madison.

For most teams, the regular season has come to an end. Others still have one final chance to improve their postseason position. There are still a lot of questions to be answered during conference championship weekend, so the action appears to be far from being over.

The rankings from ESPN are certainly interesting, as the algorithm that puts together the FPI rankings don’t reflect some of the changes you would probably expect.

Updates ESPN FPI Top 25 after Week 13

  1. Georgia Bulldogs (12-0) (—)
  2. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2) (+1)
  3. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) (-1)
  4. Michigan Wolverines (12-0) (—)
  5. Tennessee Volunteers (10-2) (+1)
  6. Texas Longhorns (8-4) (-1)
  7. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2) (—)
  8. Utah Utes (9-3) (—)
  9. Clemson Tigers (10-2) (—)
  10. TCU Horned Frogs (12-0) (+5)
  11. Kansas State Wildcats (9-3) (+1)
  12. LSU Tigers (9-3) (-2)
  13. Florida State Seminoles (9-3) (-2)
  14. USC Trojans (11-1) (—)
  15. Oregon Ducks (9-3) (-2)
  16. Ole Miss Rebels (8-4) (+1)
  17. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-4) (-1)
  18. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4) (—)
  19. Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4) (+2)
  20. Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4) (+6)
  21. Baylor Bears (6-6) (-2)
  22. Washington Huskies (10-2) (—)
  23. Oregon State Beavers (9-3) (—)
  24. Oklahoma Sooners (6-6) (—)
  25. Louisville Cardinals (7-5) (-5)

Illinois is the lone entrant into this week’s FPI Top 25, as they rose six spots up to No. 20 and took the place of Wisconsin (previously No. 25 in ESPN’s FPI). TCU was the other biggest riser this week, jumping up five spots and into the top ten. Louisville lost to Kentucky on Saturday, and the Cardinals fell five spots but remained in the final spot in the top 25.