Where is Ohio State in relation to Michigan, Penn State in ESPN’s early Big Ten FPI rankings?

If you’ve followed along with us for any period of time, there’s no doubt you know that there are a few things we like to keep tabs on when it comes to the Ohio State football team. One of those is the ESPN Football Power Index which is used as a predictive metric of a team’s future success.

To be fully transparent, the formula used isn’t well-known since it’s held pretty close to the vest by ESPN, but it’s a bit of a combination of returning talent, recruiting reinforcements, and past history, all designed to put a quantitative measure on a team’s roster and potential success.

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As luck would have it, ESPN just released its very early FPI rankings for 2023 and Ohio State got a pretty unexpected bump and sits awfully high on the list of teams for 2023, probably much higher than you might expect.

Here on this free Buckeye homer site, we do like to keep tabs on the entire Big Ten, so we thought it a good exercise to rank the Big Ten teams to see how they stack up according to the FPI. Where is Ohio State in relation to Michigan, Wisconsin, and seemingly everyone’s dark horse contender, Penn State?

Here’s the ESPN FPI ranking of all fourteen teams in the conference from worst to first.

14

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Greg Schiano walks on the field during pregame warmups before an NCAA Division I football game between the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021, at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | -3.2 (No. 78 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.0%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

13

Indiana Hoosiers

Indiana Hoosiers head coach Tom Allen watches from the sideline during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | -2.9 (No. 75 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.0%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

12

Northwestern Wildcats

Nov 5, 2022; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Pat Fitzgerald (center) takes the field with his team against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ryan Field. Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | -1.1 (No. 67 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.0%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

11

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 3.1 (No. 52 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.1%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

 

10

Purdue Boilermakers

Purdue Boilermakers tight ends Paul Piferi (89) and Payne Durham (87) celebrate Piferi’s touchdown on the Indiana State Sycamores defensive line during the NCAA football game, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 4.4 (No. 50 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.3%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

9

Illinois Fighting Illini

Nov 26, 2022; Evanston, Illinois, USA; llinois Fighting Illini head coach Bret Bielema leads his team on the field against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field. Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 5.5 (No. 45 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.7%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

8

Maryland Terrapins

Oct 1, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Michael Locksley looks on during the second half of the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 5.6 (No. 44 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.0%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

7

Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, left, and Hawkeyes players wait to take to the field at the start of the second half during an NCAA football game against Nevada, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 7.3 (No. 37 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 1.6%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

6

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Nov 12, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck leads his team out onto the field before the game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Huntington Bank Stadium. Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 7.7 (No. 33 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.9%
Playoff Chances | 0.0%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

 

5

Michigan State Spartans

Michigan State head coach Mel Tucker watches his team warm up before the game Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Spartan Stadium. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 8.7 (No. 31 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 0.2%
Playoff Chances | 0.1%
National Title Chances | 0.0%

4

Wisconsin Badgers

Dec 27, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the second half of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl at Chase Field. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 12.3 (No. 20 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 5.9%
Playoff Chances | 1.0%
National Title Chances | 0.1%

3

Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin yells during the fourth quarter of the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 17.5 (No. 10 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 4.6%
Playoff Chances | 10.7%
National Title Chances | 1.0%

2

Michigan Wolverines

Dec 31, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines against the TCU Horned Frogs in the second half of the 2022 Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 21.4 (No. 6 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 14.3%
Playoff Chances | 25.9%
National Title Chances | 3.9%

1

Ohio State Buckeyes

Nov 19, 2022; College Park, Maryland, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leas his team onto the field before the game against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN FPI Metrics

Total Score | 31.5 (No. 1 nationally)
Conference Championship Chances | 71.2%
Playoff Chances | 82.2%
National Title Chances | 36.7%

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