Powerhouse Program Plummets In ESPN FPI College Football Rankings

Heading into the 2024 college football season, there may not have been a team that generated more buzz than the Oregon Ducks.

For what feels like the first time ever, an Oregon head coach didn't chase after a bigger job following a huge year. Dan Lanning remained in Eugene despite being viewed as a candidate for both Alabama and Texas A&M. On top of that, he also built what many people felt was a championship-caliber roster capable of being a threat to No. 1 Georgia.

On Saturday, August 31, in their opening game of the season, the Ducks narrowly escaped an Idaho team that preseason rankings didn't even have as the best team in the Big Sky. The Ducks walked away with a 24-14 win, a bruised ego and also ended up free-falling in ESPN's latest Football Power Index ( FPI ) rankings.

They started the season as the No. 2 team in the country, but after Saturday's lackluster showing fell to No. 10. On top of that, ESPN's FPI initially gave the Ducks nearly a 13% chance of winning the title, which has since fallen to a 1.4% chance.

For those unfamiliar, the FPI measures a team's strengths and is used to predict how good they will be throughout the year.

In terms of winning the Big Ten, ESPN's FPI now views both Penn State (35.8%) and Ohio State (35.9%) as having a better chance at winning the conference. The Ducks saw their chances of winning their new conference go from 37.5% to just 9.9%.

Luckily for Oregon, one game doesn't define their season. They will have a chance to make somewhat of a statement in Week 2 as they welcome Boise State to town. A team that many expect to be the Group of Five representative in the College Football Playoff, and one that the FPI ranks as the best non-Power 4 team at No. 38.

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