I have watched some ESPN this weekend after the OSU win and the Bama loss to see how ESPN is going to spin the conversation this week. I was not disappointed to find their ramping up the narrative spin again. During their "Who's In" show they compared OSU vs LSU. This showed OSU #1 and LSU #4 but gave more FPI top 25 wins 4 vs 3 to OSU. They used this as justification of LSU having better wins and schedule and should be ranked number 1. Well here are the FPI rankings.
| Team | Record | FPI |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 12-0 | 33.4 |
| Clemson | 12-0 | 31.4 |
| Alabama | 10-2 | 28.6 |
| LSU | 12-0 | 27.6 |
| Georgia | 11-1 | 25.3 |
| Auburn | 9-3 | 21.9 |
| Florida | 10-2 | 21.8 |
| Oklahoma | 11-1 | 21.4 |
| Wisconsin | 10-2 | 21.3 |
| Penn State | 10-2 | 21.1 |
The rankings also have TA&M at #17. That's 5 SEC teams in the top 7. South Carolina and Ole Miss (4-8) above 8-4 ACC Teams and Cincinnati (10-2). How is Alabama at 2 loses a head of a LSU or Georgia? There is no explanation for Alabama to be where they are. How can anyone use these rankings for any argument? I remember having a discussion in the preseason about these rankings and how they don't matter and there is no bias in them. There is clearly bias built in these rankings for SEC teams and they do matter since ESPN crafts narratives around the FPI. We should continuously shame ESPN for using the FPI to justify any position.
