The final Football Power Index is out with plenty of surprises.
Brad Crawford
College football crowned Michigan 2023 national championwith a 34-13 win over Washington. With that, the postseason top 25 rankings arrivein droves. ESPN's final Football Power Index poll features several surprises, including a four-spot rise from a New Year's Six bowl winner.
Oft-criticized due to differences from other power rankings, theFPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance on any game day. According to ESPN, the FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is through an algorithmic formula.
Last spring, Ohio State debuted at No. 1 in the early FPI followed by Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Texas. Nine months later, changes aren't as significant as this season of parity across the sport would suggest.
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Here isESPN's final FPI Top 25 poll for the 2023 season:
1. Michigan Wolverines (15-0)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 1
Here's one ESPN's final FPI poll got right — the unbeaten Wolverines in the top spot. Say what you want about Michigan's first national championship since 1997 coming with an "asterisk" after all of the off-the-field distractions this fall, but you have to give Jim Harbaugh credit where it's due — his team took out unbeaten Ohio State in the regular-season finale, then blanked Iowa before playing two of its best games of his coaching tenure. Michigan will be a threat to win it all again in 2024.
2. Georgia Bulldogs (13-1)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 6
Georgia sees the biggest rise in the final computer rankings after its 60-point demolition of Florida State in Miami. Playing with most of its regulars, the Bulldogs throttled the shorthanded Seminoles from start to finish, proving a point to those who kept the two-time defending national champions out of the final four following a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Ultimately, that's what the 2023 season will be remembered for, not the fact Georgia extended its winning streak to 29 games with a new crop of starters before it came to an end.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 3
Ryan Day would be the first to admit Ohio State's season didn't go as planned, but there's no movement for the Buckeyes in the FPI poll despite mustering only three points in their bowl loss to Missouri. This marks the second consecutive season that Ohio State lost back to back games to end it after Michigan and Georgia left a sour taste on the 2022 campaign. For Day, staff changes this month and a couple high-end portal acquisitions should all but guarantee a playoff return this fall in the expanded format.
4. Oregon Ducks (11-2)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 4
One of college football's fastest-rising stars in coaching, Dan Lanning is building a powerhouse at Oregon in short order through recruiting and his portal expertise, but Washington was the nemesis for the Ducks. The Huskies kept Oregon out of the playoff with a win in the Pac-12 title game, nullifying a statistically eye-popping performance from quarterback Bo Nix. After humiliating Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, Oregon finishes inside the top five here.
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-3)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 3
ESPN's algorithm loved the Nittany Lions this season, but there's a reason James Franklin's team finished outside of the national championship picture a good bit away from the top five. Losses to Michigan and Ohio State were essentially season-squashers, then a team ridden with opt-outs was mauled in Atlanta by Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl to end it. Franklin's hoping two new coordinator hires works wonders in 2024 when the schedule gets even tougher in the expanded league.
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (12-2)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 5
Alabama slipped a spot after its playoff loss to Michigan during an otherwise impressive season out of Nick Saban from a coaching standpoint. This wasn't his most talented team with the Crimson Tide and even had rare quarterback issues early before he stuck with Jalen Milroe over the final two months of the schedule and it paid off in a big way en route to a conference championship. Alabama's had a mass exodus of players to the transfer portal and the NFL over the past week, something to keep an eye ahead of spring.
7. Texas Longhorns (12-2)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 7
Texas is back and the Longhorns proved it with a conference championship and berth in the College Football Playoff. The window for Steve Sarkisian to win his first national championship is still open, too. One of two SEC newcomers in 2024, this offense welcomes back some of its firepower should Quinn Ewers return and if he declares for the draft instead, five-star Arch Manning sounds like he's anxious to lead. This 2023 season will go down as the most memorable of the decade on the Forty Acres.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 10
Bowl blowouts over a weakened Oregon State team impresses the computers ... who knew? In reality, getting to 10 wins this season passed the eye test for second-year coach Marcus Freeman, who will head into 2024 with supreme confidence that his Fighting Irish have an excellent shot at getting to the playoff this fall. Not only did he sign Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, but other portal additions included several difference-making wide receivers and other role players that fill personnel holes.
9. Oklahoma Sooners (10-3)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 8
Many Oklahoma fans were in wait-and-see mode with Brent Venables six months ago, but the momentum is noticeable now thathe has a 10-win season in his back pocket heading into Year 3. And with former five-star signee Jackson Arnold set to lead at quarterback, there's some confidence within Sooner Nation that the program's move to the ultra-competitive SEC could pay off in a a big way.
10. LSU Tigers (10-3)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 9
Brian Kelly cleaned house defensively after a 10-win season — that's how lofty expectations are when you're the head coach in Baton Rouge. And that came after Kelly had a Heisman-winning quarterback too after Jayden Daniels had his way against quality SEC competition throughout the campaign. After winning the West in 2022, failing to get back to Atlanta made Kelly's stomach turn, but he's hit an obvious home run since winning the ReliaQuest Bowl after swiping one of the SEC's top assistants to lead on defense.
11. Kansas State Wildcats (9-4)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 12
Kansas State started its new era at quarterback during the bowl win over NC State with Avery Johnson assuming the reins following a portal entry from Will Howard. The Wildcats will be one of the favorites next fall in the expanded Big 12.
12. Washington Huskies (14-1)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 13
On eye test alone, Washington deserves to be in the top 5 of this final ranking, right? ESPN's algorithm grades teams differently than with the subjectiveness taken out of the equation. It was a fine year for Kalen DeBoer, whose perfect record in close games finally ended on Monday night as the national runner-up.
13. Florida State Seminoles (13-1)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 11
Like the College Football Playoff selection committee, ESPN's FPI doesn't seem to respect the Seminoles and what they accomplished either as ACC champions.
14. Missouri Tigers (11-2)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 16
One of four SEC teams to win at least 11 games, this was a banner campaign for coach Eli Drinkwitz, who is now faced with finding a replacement for one of the top defensive coordinators nationally following Blake Blake's bolt to LSU.
15. Ole Miss Rebels (11-2)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 15
Ole Miss stays put at No. 15 despite taking Penn State behind the woodshed for its 11th win, the highest total under Lane Kiffin.
16. Tennessee Volunteers (9-4)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 17
The future looks bright for the Volunteers with their new five-star quarterback, doesn't it? Tennessee's early-season loss at Florida derailed the season, but Josh Heupel's players recovered nicely down the stretch.
17. Texas A&M Aggies (7-6)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 14
Here's a team, beloved by the FPI, that really made you scratch your head. Texas A&M's freefall led to Jimbo Fisher's firing and the subsequent hire of Duke's Mike Elko as coach.
18. USC Trojans (8-5)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 21
Anyone have Miller Moss throwing six touchdown passes in place of Caleb Williams on your bingo card during bowl season? USC moved up three spots in ESPN's final poll.
19. Clemson Tigers (9-4)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 19
With five-straight victories to end the season after a 4-4 start, Dabo Swinney had to be pleased with his team's resiliency down the stretch.
20. Arizona Wildcats (10-3)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 22
Arizona won seven-straight games to conclude the season, one of the more impressive runs in the Power Five ranks.
21. Oregon State Beavers (8-5)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 18
Losing Jonathan Smith to Michigan State and several key players to the transfer portal leaves a black eye on an otherwise commendable season for the Beavers.
22. SMU Mustangs (11-3)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 20
SMU dropped two spots in ESPN's final FPI poll after falling flat against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl without its full arsenal available.
23. Louisville Cardinals (10-4)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 23
Three straight losses for first-year coach Jeff Brohm nullified a noteworthy year for the Cardinals, who played for a conference championship in the ACC. Losing to Kentucky and a so-so USC team late was damaging.
24. Miami Hurricanes (7-6)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 24
How important is 2024 for Mario Cristobal in Year 3?
25. Utah Utes (8-5)
Previous regular-season FPI ranking: No. 25
Utah's streak of consecutive conference titles ended at two years after the Utes fell victim to a top-heavy Pac-12 slate.
This article originates on 247Sports.
