With the 2025 college football season around the corner, ESPN recently updated its Football Power Index for the first time since the completion of the 2024 season. The FPI serves as a predictive model that is meant to measure the individual strengths of teams and predict how those teams will perform throughout the remainder of […]
With the 2025 college football season around the corner, ESPN recently updated its Football Power Index for the first time since the completion of the 2024 season. The FPI serves as a predictive model that is meant to measure the individual strengths of teams and predict how those teams will perform throughout the remainder of the season.
For a better and fuller understanding, here’s how ESPN itself defines its College Football Power Index.
“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.”
In the final FPI rankings of the 2024 season, the Golden Gophers finished No. 28 overall and No. 7 in the Big Ten ahead of programs such as Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Now, just under eight months later, in the first FPI rankings of the 2025 season, the Golden Gophers come in at No. 40 overall and at No. 13 in the Big Ten, one spot lower than their SP+ ranking within the Big Ten.
In the SP+ rankings, the Gophers ranked behind Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon, Michigan, USC, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Washington, and Wisconsin. In the FPI rankings, Rutgers is also ranked ahead of the Golden Gophers.
According to the FPI, the Gophers have a projected record this season of 6.9-5.1, which is notably ahead of Iowa, Rutgers, and Wisconsin, among others. The Gophers are given an 83.6% to win six games this season, a 0.2% to win the Big Ten, a 2.6% chance to make the playoffs, and a 0.1% chance to make the national championship game.
Additionally, ESPN ranks the Gophers’ strength of schedule as No. 31 in the country, which ranks 14th in the Big Ten. Only Washington, Nebraska, Illinois, and Maryland have easier schedules according to the FPI.
How does the ESPN FPI rank the Big Ten?
- Ohio State: 10.2 – 2.5
- Penn State: 10.3 – 2.2
- Oregon: 9.4 – 2.9
- USC: 8.7 – 3.5
- Michigan: 8.8 – 3.4
- Indiana: 8.1 – 4.0
- Nebraska: 7.4 – 4.6
- Iowa: 6.6 – 5.4
- Washington: 7.0 – 5.0
- Illinois: 7.1 – 5.0
- Wisconsin: 5.6 – 6.4
- Rutgers: 6.4 – 5.6
- Minnesota: 6.9 – 5.1
- UCLA: 5.1 – 6.9
- Michigan State: 4.8 – 7.2
- Maryland; 5.5 – 6.5
- Northwestern: 4.7 – 7.3
- Purdue: 2.9 – 9.1
Category: General Sports
