Where Do No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes Sit on ESPN Football Power Index After Eight Weeks?
The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the then-No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions 20-12 on Saturday to remain unbeaten through the first eight weekends of the college football season.
However, the Buckeyes have struggled in moments on their journey to a 7-0 record, even if none of their lowest moments have yet resulted in a loss.
Here is how the ESPN Football Power Index (FPI) compares Ohio State to the rest of the college football world in their three categories: FPI, Resume and Efficiencies.
Football Power Index
The Buckeyes are the top-ranked team on the FPI, which compares a team's "expected point margin against an average opponent on a neutral field," according to ESPN. Ohio State's FPI margin is 27.9 points, putting them ahead of the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines (second with 26.7), No. 4 Florida State Seminoles (sixth with 22.7) and No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs (eighth with 22.5).
The FPI also gives Ohio State a 34 percent chance to win out against their remaining five opponents, a 59.2 percent probability to win the Big Ten East and a 54.9 percent expectation to walk away with the 2023 Big Ten Championship trophy. In terms of the College Football Playoff (CFP), the Buckeyes remain the team with the best chance at winning the 2023 National Championship.
ESPN gives Ohio State a 73.8 percent chance to qualify for the CFP, a 44.7 percent probability to advance into the National Championship game and a 25.6 percent expectation to win it all. Each of those percentages are the best of any college football team in the three, aforementioned metrics.
Resume
Ohio State sit first in Strength of Record (SOR), which analyzes how other Top 25 teams would fair if given the same schedule. The Buckeyes are one of the only two Big Ten teams ranked in the top ten for SOR, alongside Michigan in ninth place.
Two categories in which the Buckeyes are not the top-ranked team are Strength of Schedule (SOS) and Remaining Strength of Schedule. Ohio State sits in the 20th spot for total SOS, and 10th for remaining SOS.
The Scarlet and Gray have already played two of their three biggest games of the regular season (September 23 at the No. 9 Notre Dame and October 21 versus then-No. 7 Penn State), with No. 2 Michigan still remaining in late November. As of now, the Wolverines are the only ranked team left on the Ohio State's docket.
The Buckeyes are ranked fourth in Game Control, however, which looks at how likely another Top 25 team is to perform as well or poorly as Ohio State did against the opponents on their schedule.
Efficiencies
ESPN grades a team's efficiency in four categories: overall, offense, defense and special teams. Concerningly, Ohio State does not have an efficiency ranking above 90 in any of those aforementioned metrics.
The Buckeyes defense is the highest-graded of the three unit-based groupings (believe it or not) at 88.3, with the offense coming in second with an 81 rating. Ohio State's performance on special teams is the least efficient unit at 44.7, giving the Buckeyes a rating of 89.6 overall.
In terms of where those marks place Ohio State compared to other teams, the Buckeyes are No. 12 in offense, No. 2 in defense and No. 93 in special teams. Ohio State's 89.6 rating is the second-highest overall grade in the country, behind the 96 of Michigan.
