ESPN FPI Predicts BYU's Season Opener Against Sam Houston State

BYU's season opener against Sam Houston State is just eight days away. ESPN's predictive college football algorithm, the football power index, gives BYU a 91.9%

BYU's season opener against Sam Houston State is just eight days away. ESPN's predictive college football algorithm, the football power index, gives BYU a 91.9% chance to beat Sam Houston State. As of this writing, the line is at BYU -20 and the over/under is at 50. In other words, the oddsmakers expect a final score of 35-15 in favor of BYU.

BYU starts the 2023 season ranked 60th in FPI. 60th is second to last place in the Big 12 ahead of only Kansas. The Jayhawks rank 68th in the country in FPI. Texas is the highest-ranking Big 12 team in the FPI preseason rankings - the Longhorns rank fifth nationally.

Big 12 FPI Rankings

1. Texas - 5th nationally
2. Oklahoma - 11th nationally
3. TCU - 17th nationally
4. Texas Tech - 22nd nationally
5. Baylor - 23rd nationally
6. UCF - 26th nationally
7. Kansas State - 27th nationally
8. Oklahoma State - 38th nationally
9. Iowa State - 43rd nationally
10. Cincinnati - 48th nationally
11. Houston - 54th nationally
12. West Virginia - 57th nationally
13. BYU - 60th nationally
14. Kansas - 68th nationally

BYU running back Aidan Robbins / Credit: BYU Photo

FPI predicts BYU will finish with a 5.1-6.9 record. The Power Index gives BYU a 39.7% chance to finish with six or more wins. FPI gives BYU a very slim chance to win the conference in its inaugural Big 12 season. The Cougars have 0.3% chance to win the Big 12 championship this season according to ESPN's algorithm.

In the FPI model, Texas is given 43.5% chance to win the conference and Oklahoma is second at 22.3%. TCU is third in line with a 8.0% chance to win the Big 12.

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