ESPN shakes up FPI rankings after turbulent college football Saturday

On3 imageby:Jonathan Wagner•09/05/21•

Jonathan Wagner

Saturday marked the beginning of the 2021 college football season for most teams. Some teams pulled off major upsets and others were on the wrong end of an upset. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) measures team strength based on predicting future team performances while representing how many points above or below average a team is. After the first full college football Saturday, ESPN’s FPI rankings saw some major shakeups.

ESPN FPI Top 25: 1-10

1. Alabama (1-0): Alabama got off to a great start on Saturday night with a dominating 44-13 victory over Miami. Quarterback Bryce Young showed that he is capable of playing at the elite level that Alabama is used to seeing from its quarterbacks. ESPN predicts Alabama to have a 42.8 percent chance of winning the national championship

2. Clemson (0-1): The DJ Uiagalelei era at quarterback certainly isn’t beginning how Clemson was hoping it would. The Tigers’ offense was completely stifled by Georgia’s defense. The Bulldogs came away with a 10-3 win over Clemson. Despite starting with a loss, Clemson still sits towards the top of FPI rankings.

3. Ohio State (1-0): It took a little bit to get things going, but Ohio State came out of opening weekend with a 45-31 win over Minnesota. Quarterback CJ Stroud bounced back from a slow first half with a big performance to end the game.

4. Oklahoma (1-0): This game was supposed to be played in New Orleans, but Oklahoma was the road team in its home stadium due to Hurricane Ida’s impacts. The Sooners were locked into a tight battle with the Green Wave, but came away with a 40-35 victory.

5. Georgia (1-0): Georgia did not score an offensive touchdown, with its lone trip to the endzone coming off of a pick six. The Bulldogs shut down Clemson’s offense in every way possible. The offense struggled as well, but Georgia was able to secure a major win in week one.

6. Texas A&M (1-0): The Aggies started their season off with a strong 41-10 victory over Kent State. Texas A&M has a tough road ahead of them to compete in the SEC, but they are a strong contender to be there at the end in College Football Playoff discussions.

7. Notre Dame: Notre Dame’s season has yet to get underway. The Fighting Irish face off against Florida State on Sunday night at 7:30PM ET.

8. Texas (1-0): Texas began the Steve Sarkisian era with a convincing 38-18 victory over Louisiana. There has been a lot of intrigue surrounding Texas heading into the season, and a win to begin the year is a great start.

9. Florida (1-0): The Gators started the season with a 35-14 win over Florida Atlantic. Despite the 21-point victory, questions came after the game around the state of Florida’s quarterback situation as Emory Jones struggled.

10. Auburn (1-0): Auburn rounds out the top ten after a huge 60-10 win against Akron. You couldn’t have asked for a better first game if you’re new head coach Bryan Harsin.

FPI Top 25: 11-25

11. Penn State (1-0): Penn State and Wisconsin were engaged in a defensive showdown for the majority of their opening game. The Nittany Lions came out of it with a 16-10 victory.

12. Miami (0-1): Some thought that Miami could pull the ultimate upset over Alabama in week one. That was not the case, as Miami looked out of place in a 44-13 loss.

13. Michigan (1-0): Michigan was able to find the explosive offense that it lacked during the disappointing 2020 season. The Wolverines won 47-14 over Western Michigan.

14. Oregon (1-0): It was a close game, but Oregon ultimately defeated Fresno State 31-24 over the weekend. The Ducks are the highest Pac-12 team in FPI rankings.

15. Iowa (1-0): Iowa had a tough week one opponent against Indiana. In the end, the Hawkeyes had no issues and came away with a 34-6 victory.

16. LSU (0-1): Ed Orgeron and the Tigers start the season 0-1 after a 38-27 loss to Chip Kelly and UCLA. LSU’s rushing attack could not keep up with UCLA’s.

17. Cincinnati (1-0): The highest group of five school got off to a strong start to the season with a 49-14 victory to Miami (OH).

18. NC State (1-0): The Wolfpack began the season with a dominating 45-0 win against South Florida. With the ACC seemingly wide open, NC State could make some noise.

19. Iowa State (1-0): Iowa State spent much of this game on upset watch. They were able to sneak away with a tight, 16-10 win over Northern Iowa.

20. North Carolina (0-1): Mack Brown and the Tar Heels dropped their week one contest 17-10 to Virginia Tech. Sam Howell struggled, but so did the offense around him.

21. USC (1-0): The Trojans had no issues during week one, and they came away with a 30-7 win against San Jose State.

22. Michigan State (1-0): Michigan State’s game against Northwestern was tight throughout the contest. Ultimately, the Spartans won 38-21.

23. Wisconsin (0-1): In the tight battle of defenses, Penn State’s reigned supreme on Saturday. Wisconsin was hindered by a couple of big turnovers at poor times. The Badgers lost 16-10 to Penn State.

24. Ole Miss: Like Notre Dame, Ole Miss has not yet started the season. The Rebels will host Louisville Monday night.

25. Virginia Tech (1-0): Virginia Tech came away with an impressive 17-10 victory over North Carolina to begin the season. The Hokies are another sleeper team in the ACC and wrap up ESPN FPI’s top 25.