ESPN's Computer Releases Its Final College Football Top 25 Rankings
01/21/2025 04:21 PM
The 2024 college football season came to a close last night, with Ohio State beating Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
Ohio State shook off a devastating loss to Michigan in the regular season finale to run the table in the CFP, beating Tennessee, Oregon and Texas before closing out the Fighting Irish. The national title is the first for embattled head coach Ryan Day and the first for the Buckeyes in a decade.
When next season begins, Ohio State will once again be among the favorites to win it all. For now, the Buckeyes are atop almost every set of final rankings, including ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) top 25.
The FPI is forward-facing and meant to be 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." Well, the season is over now, but the computer formula still makes for some interesting results.
Below is the full FPI top 25, which differentiates greatly from the final AP poll top 25, released earlier today.
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- Miami (Fla.)
- Louisville
- SMU
- Clemson
- South Carolina
- Texas A&M
- USC
- LSU
- Florida
- Missouri
- Arizona State
- Iowa
- Colorado
- Kansas State
- BYU
For starters, the FPI ranks Texas No. 2, while Notre Dame finished as the CFP runner-up and the No. 2 team in the AP poll.
The ESPN computer is also much higher on Alabama and Ole Miss and much lower on Oregon and Arizona State than the pollsters are, among other discrepancies.
As we move further into the offseason, and programs begin finalizing their rosters, the FPI will shift its focus to 2025 and update its projections for the coming season.
Once the year begins, the rankings are constantly changing to reflect not only what has happened on the field, but what more importantly might happen down the road.
Related: Final AP Top 25 Released After Ohio State Wins National Championship
