admin
The college football landscape is evolving rapidly as the sport undergoes multiple seismic changes simultaneously. Name, image and likeness licensing, the transfer portal and new player eligibility rules make the sport increasingly more complex to understand.
ESPN created the Football Power Index (FPI) to try to quantify the changes and make them understandable for the average fan. The site ranked teams using a number of categories such as their odds to make the playoffs, records for the season and even national championship odds.
The site listed 20 teams, but here are the 15 with a real chance to win the title:
No. 15 – Michigan Wolverines
FPI Rank: 14.6
Projected Wins: 8.4
Championship %: 1%
Michigan’s quarterback situation will make it tough to win a national championship, but there is always a chance when you sport one of the best defenses in the country.
FPI Rank: 14.8
Projected Wins: 7.5
Championship %: 1.1%
The Tigers have a long way to go to reach contender status, but ESPN gives them long-shot odds of winning the title.
FPI Rank: 15.9
Projected Wins: 8.3
Championship %: 1.5%
Ole Miss can certainly hang with the heavy hitters, given they beat the Georgia Bulldogs last year. If the Rebels can refrain from playing down to opponents, a deep playoff run is on the table.
FPI Rank: 17.1
Projected Wins: 7.9
Championship %: 1.8%
ESPN doesn’t expect LSU to have the best chance, but it has a consensus top-10 pick, quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who makes a national championship a possibility.
FPI Rank: 17.9
Projected Wins: 8.1
Championship %: 2.1%
The Aggies had a chance to make the College Football Playoffs before dropping the final three games of last season. If they can finish strongly this year, there is a real possibility they can compete for the title.
FPI Rank: 17.4
Projected Wins: 8.7
Championship %: 2.3%
After a sudden and controversial exit by Nico Iamaleava, the Volunteers are scrambling to put a plan in place for the quarterback position. That inevitably will spark a regression this year.
FPI Rank: 18.1
Projected Wins: 9.3
Championship %: 2.4%
ESPN projects last season’s national championship runner-up to have a massive slide because there still is no solid plan at quarterback despite an elite defense.
FPI Rank: 17.5
Projected Wins: 9.7
Championship %: 3.2%
Last year’s starting quarterback, Cam Ward, was the first pick in the NFL draft, so there could be some natural slippage in Miami with a lower caliber player under center.
FPI Rank: 17.3
Projected Wins: 9.7
Championship %: 3.8%
Once considered a college football juggernaut, Dabo Swinney attempts to lead Clemson to its first College Football Playoff since 2020.
No. 6 – Oregon Ducks
FPI Rank: 20.5
Projected Wins: 10
Championship %: 4.8%
Coach Dan Lanning brought his team all the way to the Rose Bowl last year, but extreme roster turnover will make it difficult for Oregon to reach those heights again.
FPI Rank: 21.5
Projected Wins: 10.2
Championship %: 7.6%
After an impressive first year under a new offensive coordinator, the Penn State offense is primed to take another step to complement its championship level defense.
FPI Rank: 24.2
Projected Wins: 9.6
Championship %: 10.4%
A team with an NFL pipeline as strong as Alabama is always replenishing its stockpile of talent, and ESPN projects this year to be no different.
No. 3 – Ohio State Buckeyes
FPI Rank: 23.8
Projected Wins: 10.4
Championship %: 11.6%
The Buckeyes have the third-best championship odds and would likely be higher had they not lost their starting quarterback to the NFL.
No. 2 – Georgia Bulldogs
FPI Rank: 26.6
Projected Wins: 10.1
Championship %: 17.5%
Georgia consistently has an elite defense as well as one of the best coaches of the era. That stamps them as perennial contenders.
FPI Rank: 28.5
Projected Wins: 10.4
Championship %: 22.2%
Texas has one of the top quarterbacks in the nation, Arch Manning, to go along with a loaded roster, so it is no surprise the Longhorns have the best championship odds.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes and opinions.
#Oregon #football #considered #national #championship #contender #ESPN #FPI
