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ESPN is defending keeping the Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 1 overall in their Football Power Index Top 25 rankings on Sunday morning.
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The Football Power Index updated its Week 3 Top 25 rankings following the eventful slate of Week 2 games. Ohio State went on the road and built a 20-point lead against Texas, before blowing it in the fourth quarter. Texas scored 21 unanswered points to take down Ryan Day’s Buckeyes.
On Sunday morning, ESPN’s Football Power Index Top 25 updated – and the Buckeyes remained at No. 1.
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Notre Dame
- Georgia
- Miami
- Indiana
- Alabama
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- USC
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Penn State
- Florida
- Texas Tech
- Ole Miss
- BYU
- Utah
- Nebraska
- South Carolina
- Michigan
- Auburn
- SMU
- Virginia
How is Ohio State still No. 1?
ESPN’s computer model, the Football Power Index, is defending its rankings. The rankings are not meant to be a resume-based rankings. Instead, they are meant to be a projection-based rankings.
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That means that, simply put, ESPN’s computer model still believes that Ohio State is the country’s best team. The Buckeyes might have lost on Saturday night, but ESPN’s model remains quite confident in Ohio State moving forward.
If ESPN’s computer model had to bet on one team moving forward, it would be Ryan Day’s squad.
ESPN’s computer model defends its system
The Buckeyes remain on top.
“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,” ESPN writes.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 7:05 AM.