ESPN updates FPI Top 25 rankings after chaotic Week 6 of college football

ESPN updated its Football Power Index (FPI) Top 25 after a loaded Week 6 Saturday of college football.

What else can you say, it was a tremendously entertaining week of football. The Red River Rivalry produced a dramatic and thrilling game which came down to the final seconds. Meanwhile, LSU found itself in another shootout while much of the rest of the top 10 again took care of business in their games. Below, you can read about all the action and check out where everyone landed in the full FPI top 25 as we round the corner and head towards Week 7.

(Movement in rankings vs. last week)

1. Ohio State

Ohio State withstood another early scare against a team they wound up handling. This time, it was Maryland who came out of the gates strong against the Buckeyes and led for a large portion of the first half before OSU found a rhythm and cruised to victory in quarters No. 3 and No. 4.

Quarterback Kyle McCord may not have had the prettiest start, but he finished with a terrific day overall. He completed 19 of his 29 passes for a total of 320 yards and two touchdowns. One of those scores went to Marvin Harrison, who was the top target vs. the Terrapins with 163 yards on eight catches.

2. Oklahoma

Well, Oklahoma certainly got revenge in Dallas during this year’s edition of the Red River Showdown. Thanks to a stout defensive performance and some magic from Dillon Gabriel late in the fourth quarter, OU completely flipped the script from last season to pickup the rivalry win.

For the Sooners, it was a statement win and the best yet of the Brent Venables era as they’re now square in the College Football Playoff mix. But they shouldn’t get ahead of themselves, as it’s highly likely that Oklahoma meets the Longhorns one more time this season in the Big 12 title game.

3. Alabama

The Crimson Tide continue to take care of business in SEC play. On the heels of wins over Ole Miss and Mississippi State, Alabama picked up another SEC West victory, this time at Texas A&M, where Jimbo Fisher came up just short vs. Nick Saban for a second year in a row.

The Tide defense held A&M to just 20 points while quarterback Jalen Milroe made some terrific throws to keep Alabama ahead on offense. However, the real star of the day was his top target, Jermaine Burton, who had nine receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns.

4. Georgia (+3)

After playing with their food in the first two SEC wins vs. South Carolina and Auburn, Georgia wasted no time putting the game away against Kentucky. After three possessions for each team, the score was 21-0 and the Dawgs reallt never looked back.

Brock Bowers had another 100-yard game as quarterback Carson Beck continued to look the part of a suitable Stetson Bennett replacement. He tossed for 300 yards in the first half alone as UGA enjoyed by far its best offensive day and overall performance in 2023.

5. Oregon (+1)

The Ducks got Saturday off this week after beating Stanford and before delving into a really tough stretch of games here. The Ducks will be featured as part of College GameDay next week when they head to Washington, and then they get Washington State on the road after that.

Oregon hasn’t faced a team that’s currently ranked yet this season, and now they’ll get five such games in their last seven. But a least they’ll get the toughest matchup out of the way with the road contest vs. the Huskies coming up righ off the bye.

6. Texas (-2)

Saturday was tough for Texas, who allowed a team they had beat 49-0 last year to come in to Dallas and score a victory in the Red River Showdown. But hey, at least it was a close and exciting game that had one heck of an ending.

For the Longhorns, the loss is crushing considering the lopsided final score a year ago, but it isn’t a setback that’s impossible to overcome. After all, Texas still has an incredibly impressive win at Alabama and could very well run the table to see these Sooners again in the conference championship game.

7. Penn State (-2)

After a 5-0 start on the year, including a dominant 3-0 record in Big Ten games, Penn State got Week 6 off to recuperate for their much-tougher back end of the slate. In between games vs. Indiana and UMass, Penn State has trips to Ohio State and the Maryland team that just gave the Buckeyes some trouble.

They’ll need Drew Allar and the defense to continue to play well to pull off the Ohio State win, but it also won’t be as tough a task as usual. OSU is still great but they aren’t an unstoppable force like they have been for much of the Ryan Day era.

8. Michigan

Michigan is just ruthlessly mowing down their schedule, scoring 30+ in every win while allowing no more than 10 points in any game. And actually, the 10 they allowed to Minnesota is the most the Wolverines have given up in a game this season.

Even still, Michigan completely dominated this road game vs. the Golden Gophers. They won by 42 points as JJ McCarthy put up mild numbers — 219 passing yards and three total touchdowns — and UM out-gained Minnesota 432 to 169.

9. Washington

Washington absolutely obliterated their first four opponents, scoring 40+ in each game while winning by margins of 37, 33, 34 and 27. Against Arizona, though, the Wildcats showed the Huskies are not purple terminators and may be mortal after all by keeping the score within one possession.

Now, the Huskies welcome College GameDay and the Oregon Ducks next Saturday. If this Washington team is a legit title contender, and Michael Penix is a Heisman frontrunner, then this game is an opportunity to take a big step in those directions.

10. Florida State

FSU got a much-needed bye week after stealing a win over Clemson in Death Valley. After that victory, you coul;d argue no team in the country had a better pair of wins than the Seminoles after they’d now toppled Clemson and LSU.

This week, they only added to the resume with a sound beating of Virginia Tech. The Hokies may not be a win of very high quality, but after the scare vs. Boston College, FSU fans will take every blowout they can get.

FPI Rankings 11-25

11. Ole Miss (+2)
12. Notre Dame (-1)
13. USC (-1)
14. LSU
15. Texas A&M (+1)
16. North Carolina (+5)
17. Tennessee (+1)
18. Clemson (-1)
19. Miami (-4)
20. Oregon State
21. Louisville (NEW)
22. Kansas State (-2)
23. Wisconsin (+1)
24. Maryland (+1)
25. Duke (-2)