Look: Major Big 12 Shake-Up in ESPN FPI After Week 1
All of the hard work and analysis put in over the offseason has come crashing down to earth after the first week of actual football. There was certainly a lot to unpack from the Big 12’s first weekend of games, as we saw a few teams fall, a few underwhelm, and a few overachieve.
As a result, we saw some major movement in ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI), with several Big 12 teams making big moves both upward and downward.
Let’s take a look at how the Big 12 fared in terms of FPI after Week 1.
| TEAM | FPI | RANK | TREND |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 23.0 | 4 | ↑ 7 |
| Texas | 19.7 | 10 | ↓ 5 |
| UCF | 12.8 | 19 | ↑ 17 |
| Kansas State | 11.2 | 25 | ↑ 1 |
| Cincinnati | 9.1 | 30 | ↑ 19 |
| Texas Tech | 8.7 | 32 | ↓ 12 |
| TCU | 7.1 | 36 | ↓ 17 |
| Iowa State | 6.3 | 41 | — |
| Baylor | 3.8 | 48 | ↓ 21 |
| Oklahoma State | 3.8 | 50 | ↓ 8 |
| Houston | 1.6 | 56 | ↑ 1 |
| West Virginia | 0.4 | 60 | ↓ 2 |
| Kansas | -0.6 | 66 | ↓ 2 |
| BYU | -0.8 | 67 | ↓ 4 |
This week’s biggest risers were Cincinnati and UCF, who rose 19 and 17 spots respectively. The Bearcats beat Eastern Kentucky 66-13 to open up their 2023 season with a bang, and did so thanks to a big-time performance from QB Emory Jones.
Meanwhile, UCF QB John Rhys Plumlee had a show of his own down in Orlando, leading UCF to a 56-6 win over Kent State.
Oklahoma’s movement is also worth noting, as the Sooners rose from No. 11 to No. 4 in the FPI after a 73-0 beatdown of Arkansas State. The Sooners are also listed as the nation’s most efficient team with a rating of 99.4, according to ESPN. The Sooners rank eighth nationally in offensive efficiency, 16th in defensive efficiency, and first in special teams efficiency.
Unfortunately, the Big 12 saw plenty of downward trends this weekend as well. Baylor, TCU, and Texas Tech all fell by double digits this week after losing as big favorites to open the season. Baylor was favored by nearly four touchdowns, while TCU (-21) and Texas Tech (-13) were favored by multiple scores as well.
Now, the FPI will change from week to week, meaning that we will see movement throughout the year, but after one week of action, we actually have some real data to go off as we try and determine which teams are real contenders in the Big 12.
