ESPN updates FPI Top 25 rankings after crazy Week 9 of college football

ESPN updated its Football Power Index (FPI) Top 25 after a loaded Week 9 Saturday of college football.

What else can you say, it was another tremendously entertaining week of college football. Oklahoma finally fell as Kansas picked up yet another signature win under Lance Leipold. Meanwhile, pretty much every other top club in these rankings escaped the weekend with another win on their records. 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 10.

Format: Team (Record) | (Movement in rankings vs. last week)

1. Ohio State (8-0)

Once again, the Buckeyes reign supreme in ESPN’s FPI rankings as they’re out to an 8-0 start that includes marquee wins against both Penn State and Notre Dame. This week, they added another W to the tally by taking care of business against Wisconsin in a 24-10 victory that certainly wasn’t pretty.

But who cares how it looked? At least, that’s been the theme for this particular OSU team. They win sloppy, low-scoring games with a tremendous defense and just enough firepower on offense to create some separation between them and their opponents.

2. Michigan (8-0)

Likewise, the Wolverines are also and 8-0 Big Ten juggernaut. Though, there’s a bit more drama and a cloud hanging over this group compared to their dearest rivals just above. While all the off-field questions continue to circle, this group simply continues to deliver on the field and appear to be Jim Harbaugh’s best chance at a national title yet.

Heading into this week’s bye, UM had done nothing but dominate every foe that crossed their path. They’ve won every single game by 24 points or more with Rutgers, oddly enough, standing as the team that gave the Wolverines their biggest challenge in that regard. In total, Michigan is winning games by an average of 34 points.

3. Alabama (7-1) | (+2)

Little ole Alabama is still chugging along there in the back end of the College Football Playoff race after most college football fans gave up on the Crimson Tide when they lost at home vs. Texas. But here they are, 7-1 in the SEC with a win over top-15-rated Ole Miss to hang their hat on.

Coming up this week, LSU comes to town in a game that could either decide the SEC West or throw a massive wrench into the whole equation. We’ll get to the Tigers in their section, but Alabama can effectively wrap up the West by winning next week, as they’d be two games ahead of LSU and a game ahead of second-place Ole Miss with the head-to-head win over the Rebels in their back pocket.

4. Oregon (7-1) | (+6)

Oregon’s only blemish is losing on the road vs. the best or second-best Washington team of this century on a missed field goal. Play that game ten times and it’s likely the Ducks and Huskies split it five to five, no matter where it’s played.

Before and since that game, Oregon’s as dominant as anyone, especially in Saturday’s 35-6 shellacking of Utah AT Utah, who we all know is a darn good football team that is tough to beat anyone in the country, especially USC! Now, the Ducks get three home games in their last four with USC and Oregon State coming to town while they only leave to play ASU. This club has all but locked up a Pac-12 title spot.

5. Penn State (7-1) | (-2)

Even though we’re two-thirds of the way through the regular season, it’s tough to judge this Nittany Lion club. The good is they’re 7-1 and one win against Michigan away from jumping straight back into the Big Ten title race. But they just haven’t been that great.

PSU put up a respectable performance vs. Ohio State in that away loss, and followed it up with what could be considered their worst performance of the year against Indiana. Penn State really hadn’t played in a close down-to-the-wire game prior to the OSU matchup but were pushed to the limit against Indiana before turning the Hoosiers over with a game-sealing safety.

6. Georgia (8-0) | (+2)

Georgia fans may ask: what gives? Their team possesses a perfect record through eight games and literally hasn’t lost since the 2021 calendar year — and it’s almost 2024! Perhaps because the Dawgs are yet to beat a ranked opponent and have simply taken care of business against a bunch of below-average SEC clubs.

That’s changing, though, since UGA gets a terrific Missouri team at home, then top-15 Ole Miss at home, followed by a trip to Knoxville to play Tennessee. We’ll find out more about Georgia in this three-game stretch than the previous eight games combined. After all, the Dawgs haven’t even had a true road test really, since their only away trips came against Vanderbilt and Auburn — who are a combined 1-9 in the SEC.

7. Florida State (8-0) | (-1)

Paul Finebaum said Sunday morning that the Seminoles couldn’t afford to lose a game this season if they want to make the playoff… because of their schedule. Sure, they’re an ACC club and, like usual, it’s a pretty weak slate. But these guys have certainly accomplished more than Georgia so far, especially wiht the win over LSU away from home.

Frankly, there’s no reason at all that FSU shouldn’t win out. They just walloped Wake Forest in Winston-Salem and face a pitiful Pittsburgh team that has just one power conference win all season — against Louisville — before closing out with Miami, North Alabama and Florida.

8. Oklahoma (7-1) | (-4)

The mighty Sooners have fallen, opening the door for the pair of Kansas schools to keep their dreams of reaching the Big 12 title game alive. Speaking of those schools, it was the Jayhawks who finally knocked off a previously-undefeated OU squad.

Backup QB Jason Bean — the starter for much of the last two seasons actually — led a potent KU offense to 38 points, making every play he needed to down the stretch. Really, it all came down to a fourth down and six where Bean found Lawrence Arnold for a 37-yard gain to put the Jayhawks in striking distance, before Devin Neal punched in the game-winning TD on the next play.

9. Texas (7-1) | (-2)

Fittingly, the losers of that narrow Red River Showdown game fall in just behind rival Oklahoma. With a win over Kansas already secured, the Longhorns at least don’t have to worry about the Jayhakws hijacking their spot in the conference championship, unless they really unravel.

Next week’s early home kickoff vs. Kansas State does loom large, though, as the Wildcats will march into Austin at 4-1 in Big 12 play and needing a win over Texas to surpass them in the standings. Even if they beat KSU, Texas can’t mess around the rest of the year, since Iowa State and Oklahoma State are also sitting there at a surprising 4-1 in league play, just like the Red River duo.

10. LSU (6-2) | (-1)

It’s a shame LSU fell against Ole Miss in that monstrous shootout and is on the far outside of the CFP picture, because their quarterback, Jayden Daniels, and that offense are as fun to watch as anyone in college football. Daniels is putting up better numbers than any QB in the country as a dual-threat firecracker in that Brian Kelly offense and is looking certain to earn a Heisman ceremony invite.

But wait, are the Tigers really dead yet in the playoff picture? At two losses, probably. But let’s suppose LSU wins at Alabama next weekend and runs the table, making the SEC title game and beating an undefeated Georgia team. Two losses or not, an LSU team that scheduled aggressively out of conference and won the SEC could be appealing to the committee. It’s just something to think about.

FPI Rankings 11-25

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

Quite a bit of movement in this week’s college football FPI rankings. Shoutout to SMU especially, who makes the biggest leap of any team in the top-25 this weekend after absolutely dismantling Tulsa. The Ponies were up 52-3… at halftime. They would wind up winning 69-10 and are certainly the toast of the weekend next to Kansas.