ESPN FPI rankings love Ohio State, LSU. What it did to UCLA is absurd
Matthew Glenesk, USA TODAYSun, November 15, 2026 at 4:08 PM UTC
If you thought the College Football Playoff rankings were a mess, wait until you get a look at ESPN's Football Power Index. While the CFP committee doesn't use the FPI, it's a popular tool — one that seems to have some pretty strong brand bias baked into it.
If you're an Ohio State or LSU fan, you love it. If you're a Utah or UCLA fan, you want it fired into the sun.
Undefeated UCLA, ranked No. 4 in the CFP, is ranked... wait for it... No. 25 in the FPI. The Bruins are NINTH among Big Ten teams in the FPI, behind the likes of Nebraska, Penn State and Northwestern — all who have four losses. UCLA might as well play in the Sun Belt.
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So what is the Football Power Index? It "measures a team's true strength of schedule on net points scale, expected point margin vs. average opponent on neutral field." Glad we've got that cleared up.
The FPI actually has more Big Ten teams in the top 25 than SEC (nine to seven), so the folks over at the Worldwide Leader will probably pull the plug at some point.
Here's a look at the rankings through Week 11 (except for Sunday's Ole Miss-Oklahoma game — oh and 5-4 Oklahoma is ranked above 10-0 UCLA):
ESPN FPI rankings
Georgia (9-1) — 28.1
Notre Dame (9-1) — 27.4
Miami (9-1) — 25.8
Alabama (8-2) — 24.8
Ohio State (7-3) — 24.1
Texas (8-2) — 24.0
LSU (6-4) — 22.1
Indiana (9-1) — 21.7
Oregon (7-3) — 20.6
Wake Forest (9-1) — 20.2
Tennessee (8-2) — 19.6
Utah (10-0) — 18.9
Ole Miss (6-3) — 18.4
Texas Tech (9-1) — 16.8
BYU (8-2) — 16.0
Louisville (7-3) — 15.3
Iowa (8-2) — 15.2
Nebraska (6-4) — 14.2
USC (7-3) — 14.1
Duke (7-3) — 13.4
Arizona (7-3) — 13.1
Penn State (6-4) — 13.0
Oklahoma (5-4) — 12.9
Northwestern (6-4) — 12.8
UCLA (10-0) — 12.7
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ESPN FPI rankings love Ohio State, LSU. What it did to UCLA is absurd
Source: Sports
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