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ESPN is getting mocked for its latest FPI college football rankings following an exciting Week 2. The weekend gave us a few upsets, most notably Alabama falling at home to Texas.
Other headliners included Colorado beating rival Nebraska, UNC going to overtime with App State, and Texas A&M getting thrashed by Miami.
The chaos created some movement in the latest rankings.
Texas skyrocketed into the Top 5 while Alabama fell seven spots to No. 10 in the AP Poll. Colorado leapfrogged into the Top 20, as did Ole Miss after an impressive win over Tulane. Clemson fell from its No. 25 slot into the “receiving votes” category.
You’d expect similar movement from other polls throughout the college football world, but there’s one ranking system that’s being blasted Sunday morning.
ESPN’s FPI ranking is hilariously bad, still seeing Alabama atop the standings.
The FPI algorithm is supposed to help predict which teams will succeed as the season progresses.
“The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete.”
It’s clearly not taking into account what just happened on the field.
College football fans have flocked to social media to rip the rankings apart.
For those wondering if that On3 FPI graphic was a joke, it is not.
ESPN’s Football Power Index really ranks Alabama 1st in the country despite losing at home to Texas last night by 10. pic.twitter.com/3UK3H2E1hf
— Jim Weber (@JimMWeber) September 10, 2023
Clearly it’s time to put the ESPN FPI on the shelf. This is sad https://t.co/gCQnTOJ6l8
— Fifth Quarter 🍢FSU 🍢 (@fifthquarterfsu) September 10, 2023
Many have already stopped following the rankings system due to its questionable backing of certain programs.
And this is a perfect example of why we’ve ignored @ESPN FPI for years https://t.co/P0Ri8Ij0qU
— Dustin Tackett (@dtackett_) September 10, 2023
It’s official , if you were still following ESPN FPI, it’s time to stop https://t.co/IyzzVY2iEO
— Back2Back 704 Dawg ➐ (@FSFRecruits) September 10, 2023
Just plain bad.