ESPN updates FPI Top 25 rankings after pivotal Week 7 of college football

ESPN updated its Football Power Index (FPI) Top 25 after a loaded Week 7 Saturday of college football.

What else can you say, it was a tremendously entertaining week of football. Oregon vs. Washington more than lived up to the hype as the Huskies squeaked by. Meanwhile, Notre Dame scored a huge blowout win over USC. 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 8.

(Movement in rankings vs. last week)

1. Ohio State

The Buckeyes haven’t reached the meat of their schedule yet, but at 6-0 with a win over Notre Dame, then two blowouts vs. Maryland and Purdue, this Ohio State team is looking like a fierce contender. Saturday’s contest at Purdue might’ve featured the most complete performance of the year with a 41-7 final tally.

For Boilermakers, the day was just awful. And there’s no better sign of what a rough day it was for the home team than the fact that a student went on the field in jeans during a timeout to nail a 40-yard field goal when Purdue’s own kicker was 0/2 on the day and then missed a 39-yarder on the first possession after the student knocked it in from one yard further out.

2. Oklahoma

After Ohio State at No. 1, the No. 2 spot also remains the exact same with Oklahoma occupying the position for a second week in a row during their bye. Of course, the last time we saw this team play, Dillon Gabriel thrust himself into the Heisman discussion with late-game heroics in a Red River victory.

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

3. Penn State (+5)

The biggest riser on the board is the college football team who put up the most crooked score this past weekend. As a break midway through conference play, the Nittany Lions faced off against lowly 1-6 UMass.

The Minutemen were spotted over 40 points on the spread and still allowed Penn State to balloon the lead right past that figure early in the third quarter. Once the dust settled, PSU had won 63-0, which the FPI was quite impressed with.

4. Michigan (+4)

There really is no bigger fan of the Big Ten than the FPI. It has consistently placed Ohio State at the very stop since early on in the season, plus just gave Michigan and Penn State these massive rises to make it three B10 teams in the top four.

For the Wolverines, like the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions, they dominated their competition. Like they did vs. OSU, Indiana gave UM and early scare under their new coaching staff by utilizing a trick play to gain the 7-0 advantage. But once the Hoosiers ran out of trickery, Michigan rolled off 52 straight points to ease all doubt.

5. Texas (+1)

The benefit of a bye week was Texas getting to move up a spot in this poll. Given their current resume, it’s certainly not a stretch to say the Longhorns are a top-five club. Among teams that have already picked up a loss, none may have a better set of wins and a more respectable loss than Texas.

The loss came in the final moments to a great team in a neutral site game. Meanwhile, the ‘Horns have some solid wins to hang their hat on, led by a win AT Alabama that’s looking better by the week, along with a beatdown of a decent Kansas squad a couple of weeks ago. These guys are still in the Playoff hunt.

6. Oregon (-1)

Well, someone just had to lose that Clash of the Pac-12 Titans in Seattle over the weekend. Oregon looked down and out in the fourth quarter but rallied to score 15 quick points and tie it up before Washington scored again and the Ducks ultimately missed the game-tying field goal at the buzzer.

We’ll highlight one half of that electrifying quarterback showdown right here with Oregon’s Box Nix. He threw for 337 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Bucky Irving was a beast on the ground with 127 rushing yards to his name.

7. Alabama (-4)

Alabama built an early lead and ended with a major advantage in most team statistics, yet Arkansas made a pesky comeback in the second half. They trimmed the lead down to three at 24-21, which was the final score, since they simply couldn’t break through for one more touchdown or field goal late.

The Crimson Tide spread the wealth for their production on Saturday, using a committee of running backs to go for 177 yards on the ground. Jalen Milroe, on the other hand, tossed for a cool 238 and two touchdowns without a pick as he continues to settle in under center.

8. Georgia (-4)

As much as the FPI loves the Big Ten, it apparently does not like the SEC, especially at the very top. The back-to-back defending champions might not have looked the sharpest yet, but this club is still undefeated since the calendar year of 2022 began.

Against Vanderbilt, Georgia played with their food again, allowing the first score of the game, a touchdown, to the Commodores before running off 27 straight points. But wouldn’t you know it, Vandy snuck back in and had a chance to cut the lead to eight on a two-point conversion and failed.

9. Florida State (+1)

After FSU’s thorough 41-3 whipping of Syracuse, Dino Babers accurately commented “God was showing off when he made him” about Seminole wideout Keon Coleman. The former Spartan had another ridiculous outing, accumulating nine catches for 140 yards, including one truly incredible one-handed grab you can see right here.

We’ll need to give love to his quarterback, Jordan Travis, as well. He only needed to throw for 284 yards before exiting the game, but he completed some gorgeous deep balls to Coleman and another Florida State receivers all day long.

10. Washington (-1)

Turn your pitchforks towards ESPN, folks, because the FPI really decided to move Washington down a spot and Oregon up a spot after the Huskies beat the Ducks in a game for the ages. Rather than explain the bizarre choice by ESPN, let’s highlight Michael Penix and that Husky team.

Penix was as advertised, throwing for 302 yards and four touchdowns as Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk each eclipsed the 100-yard mark and each scored at least one touchdown. With the win and that outing, Penix is now the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.

Rankings 11-25

11. LSU (+3)
12. Ole Miss (-1)
13. Notre Dame (-1)
14. North Carolina (+2)
15. USC (-2)
16. Tennessee (+1)
17. Texas A&M (-2)
18. Clemson
19. Kansas State (+3)
20. Oregon State
21. Miami (-2)
22. Duke (+3)
23. Utah (NEW)
24. TCU (NEW)
25. Louisville (-4)

The big risers here were LSU, Kansas State and Duke, who all picked up wins this week. LSU especially continues to look like a killing machine on offense while the defense held up a little better vs. Auburn than against some other SEC offenses. On the other hand, Louisville was the biggest faller as they turned in a huge letdown performance allowing 1-4 Pittsburgh to put up a 22-0 second half to hand the Cardinals their first loss of the year.