Buffs No.66 in ESPN Preseason Football Power Index

[cmgoods]

Preseason college football ratings have historically been far less scientific than even the polls. But that doesn't have to be the case. This spring, ESPN Stats & Information created an automated set of preseason ratings for all FBS teams heading into the 2014 season, designed to predict how strong each team will be this coming season. This is essentially a preseason version of the Football Power Index (FPI) used last year.
For more on the methodology and the results, click here.

2014 PRESEASON FPI RATINGS

Team	Offense Ranking	Offense	Defense Ranking	Defense	Special Teams Ranking	Special Teams	Overall Ranking	Overall
1. Florida State	2	16.9	1	13.6	1	1.7	1	32.2
2. Oregon	1	17.9	10	9.8	25	0.8	2	28.5
3. Auburn	3	15.0	19	8.1	8	1.2	3	24.3
4. Alabama	10	10.9	3	11.8	5	1.4	4	24.1
5. UCLA	6	12.0	12	9.6	16	1.0	5	22.6
6. Ohio State	5	12.8	21	7.9	28	0.7	6	21.5
7. Oklahoma	19	7.9	4	11.7	38	0.6	7	20.3
8. Stanford	16	8.5	8	10.0	4	1.5	8	20.0
9. South Carolina	8	11.3	18	8.4	66	0.1	9	19.8
10. Texas A&M	7	11.9	24	7.2	46	0.5	10	19.6
11. Baylor	4	13.5	29	6.3	88	-0.2	11	19.6
12. Georgia	15	8.5	7	10.1	18	0.9	12	19.5
13. USC	12	9.7	17	8.6	12	1.1	13	19.4
14. LSU	20	7.4	14	9.4	6	1.3	14	18.2
15. Clemson	25	6.6	6	10.4	40	0.6	15	17.6
16. Arizona State	9	10.9	34	5.5	15	1.1	16	17.5
17. Mississippi State	22	7.1	9	9.8	49	0.5	17	17.4
18. Michigan	23	7.0	16	8.9	56	0.4	18	16.3
19. North Carolina	17	8.4	27	6.4	32	0.7	19	15.6
20. Ole Miss	34	5.2	11	9.7	44	0.5	20	15.4
21. Oklahoma State	35	4.9	15	9.1	11	1.1	21	15.1
22. Florida	64	1.1	2	12.2	2	1.7	22	15.0
23. Wisconsin	18	8.4	40	4.7	29	0.7	23	13.8
24. Michigan State	48	3.3	20	8.1	23	0.9	24	12.3
25. Texas	38	4.6	22	7.9	94	-0.3	25	12.2
26. Miami	26	6.3	39	4.9	19	0.9	26	12.1
27. Washington	21	7.3	41	4.5	59	0.3	27	12.1
28. Oregon State	14	8.9	53	2.2	41	0.6	28	11.7
29. Notre Dame	41	4.1	25	6.9	54	0.4	29	11.4
30. Missouri	39	4.2	31	5.9	13	1.1	30	11.3
31. BYU	32	5.3	36	5.2	34	0.7	31	11.2
32. Arizona	36	4.9	28	6.4	87	-0.2	32	11.0
33. Texas Tech	13	9.3	59	1.6	107	-0.5	33	10.4
34. Houston	52	2.6	30	6.2	7	1.3	34	10.1
35. Virginia Tech	75	-0.6	13	9.5	20	0.9	35	9.8
36. TCU	87	-2.6	5	11.2	26	0.8	36	9.4
37. Iowa	51	2.7	32	5.9	43	0.6	37	9.2
38. Indiana	11	10.0	76	-0.8	81	0.0	38	9.1
39. Maryland	63	1.3	26	6.7	22	0.9	39	8.9
40. Utah	53	2.6	42	4.5	3	1.7	40	8.7
41. Pittsburgh	50	2.9	37	5.1	50	0.5	41	8.5
42. Duke	30	5.6	60	1.3	10	1.1	42	8.1
43. Nebraska	54	2.3	35	5.4	58	0.3	43	8.0
44. Kansas State	31	5.5	61	1.3	9	1.1	44	7.9
45. Arkansas	40	4.2	48	2.9	55	0.4	45	7.4
46. Penn State	56	2.1	33	5.8	106	-0.5	46	7.4
47. Georgia Tech	29	5.8	62	1.2	64	0.2	47	7.2
48. UCF	43	3.9	54	2.0	21	0.9	48	6.8
49. Wash. State	47	3.4	45	3.1	77	0.0	49	6.6
50. Louisville	37	4.7	56	1.7	72	0.0	50	6.5
51. Tennessee	68	0.7	38	5.0	33	0.7	51	6.5
52. Northwestern	61	1.4	43	3.8	35	0.7	52	5.9
53. Boise State	58	1.9	51	2.4	24	0.9	53	5.1
54. Kentucky	44	3.6	63	0.8	47	0.5	54	5.0
55. Syracuse	57	2.1	49	2.8	75	0.0	55	4.9
56. West Virginia	65	1.1	44	3.6	90	-0.2	56	4.5
57. Marshall	33	5.3	72	-0.5	98	-0.3	57	4.5
58. Cincinnati	55	2.3	57	1.6	96	-0.3	58	3.6
59. Rutgers	60	1.5	65	0.6	14	1.1	59	3.2
60. Navy	28	6.1	94	-3.4	52	0.4	60	3.1
61. Virginia	101	-5.4	23	7.9	70	0.1	61	2.5
62. Iowa State	46	3.4	79	-1.1	71	0.1	62	2.4
63. California	45	3.5	74	-0.8	99	-0.4	63	2.4
64. Northern Illinois	27	6.1	97	-3.7	101	-0.4	64	1.9
65. Nevada	42	4.1	86	-2.1	86	-0.2	65	1.8
66. Colorado	74	-0.5	50	2.6	111	-0.6	66	1.5
67. Minnesota	77	-0.9	58	1.6	30	0.7	67	1.4
68. Fresno State	67	0.9	69	0.3	92	-0.2	68	0.9
69. Vanderbilt	72	-0.4	66	0.6	39	0.6	69	0.8
70. NC State	91	-3.3	46	3.1	42	0.6	70	0.4
71. Louisiana-Lafayette	59	1.8	75	-0.8	117	-0.8	71	0.2
72. Toledo	69	0.7	80	-1.3	36	0.7	72	0.1
73. Illinois	66	1.0	71	-0.2	115	-0.7	73	0.0
74. UTSA	70	0.5	78	-1.0	79	0.0	74	-0.5
75. East Carolina	49	3.3	96	-3.7	85	-0.2	75	-0.6
76. Utah State	90	-3.2	55	1.8	57	0.3	76	-1.1
77. Old Dominion	24	6.9	116	-7.5	126	-1.3	77	-1.9
78. Colorado State	71	-0.2	89	-2.6	83	-0.1	78	-2.9
79. Tulsa	102	-5.4	52	2.2	65	0.2	79	-3.0
80. Boston College	88	-2.9	73	-0.6	60	0.3	80	-3.4
81. Bowling Green	82	-1.6	85	-2.0	80	0.0	81	-3.6
82. Memphis	103	-5.6	64	0.8	17	1.0	82	-3.8
83. Kansas	110	-7.1	47	2.9	67	0.1	83	-4.1
84. SMU	89	-3.1	77	-1.0	97	-0.3	84	-4.4
85. Temple	76	-0.7	100	-4.0	63	0.2	85	-4.6
86. South Florida	105	-6.1	67	0.5	48	0.5	86	-5.2
87. San Diego State	94	-3.7	83	-1.8	73	0.0	87	-5.4
88. San Jose State	80	-1.4	99	-3.8	89	-0.2	88	-5.5
89. Rice	97	-4.1	87	-2.3	31	0.7	89	-5.7
90. South Alabama	81	-1.5	102	-4.1	102	-0.4	90	-6.0
91. Ball State	78	-1.3	107	-5.5	37	0.6	91	-6.1
92. Central Michigan	86	-2.6	95	-3.6	100	-0.4	92	-6.6
93. Connecticut	98	-4.7	82	-1.8	91	-0.2	93	-6.7
94. Tulane	112	-7.4	68	0.3	69	0.1	94	-7.0
95. UNLV	79	-1.3	105	-4.9	120	-0.9	95	-7.2
96. Purdue	95	-4.0	98	-3.8	68	0.1	96	-7.7
97. Wake Forest	118	-8.5	70	0.3	95	-0.3	97	-8.5
98. Kent State	93	-3.6	104	-4.8	84	-0.1	98	-8.5
99. Western Kentucky	85	-2.5	112	-6.3	76	0.0	99	-8.8
100. Buffalo	99	-4.9	101	-4.1	93	-0.3	100	-9.2
101. Hawaii	106	-6.7	93	-3.2	53	0.4	101	-9.4
102. Army	92	-3.4	108	-5.6	108	-0.6	102	-9.6
103. North Texas	115	-7.6	90	-2.8	27	0.8	103	-9.6
104. Air Force	73	-0.4	119	-8.9	104	-0.5	104	-9.8
105. Wyoming	96	-4.0	106	-5.2	118	-0.9	105	-10.1
106. Ohio	114	-7.5	92	-3.1	62	0.2	106	-10.4
107. Middle Tennessee	116	-7.7	91	-3.1	78	0.0	107	-10.8
108. Arkansas State	123	-9.0	84	-1.8	105	-0.5	108	-11.3
109. New Mexico	62	1.4	127	-12.3	109	-0.6	109	-11.5
110. Louisiana Tech	111	-7.1	103	-4.8	61	0.3	110	-11.6
111. Louisiana-Monroe	125	-9.4	81	-1.7	123	-1.1	111	-12.2
112. Texas State	109	-7.0	110	-6.1	45	0.5	112	-12.6
113. UTEP	83	-1.9	125	-11.3	51	0.4	113	-12.7
114. Florida Atlantic	126	-9.7	88	-2.4	119	-0.9	114	-13.0
115. Akron	104	-5.7	113	-6.4	122	-1.0	115	-13.1
116. Troy	84	-2.4	123	-10.4	113	-0.7	116	-13.6
117. Southern Miss	113	-7.4	109	-6.0	103	-0.5	117	-13.9
118. Western Michigan	107	-6.8	115	-7.5	110	-0.6	118	-14.9
119. FIU	122	-8.7	114	-7.0	112	-0.7	119	-16.4
120. Idaho	117	-8.2	117	-8.0	116	-0.8	120	-17.0
121. UAB	119	-8.5	120	-9.0	82	-0.1	121	-17.6
122. Eastern Michigan	100	-5.3	126	-11.3	127	-1.3	122	-17.9
123. Miami (OH)	128	-12.8	111	-6.2	74	0.0	123	-19.0
124 App. State	120	-8.6	121	-9.7	124	-1.2	124	-19.5
125. Georgia Southern	121	-8.6	122	-9.7	125	-1.2	125	-19.5
126. UMass	127	-10.9	118	-8.5	114	-0.7	126	-20.2
127. Georgia State	124	-9.0	124	-10.7	121	-0.9	127	-20.6
128. New Mexico State	108	-6.8	128	-14.4	128	-1.5	128	-22.7

 

[J.R. Ewing]

They have our defense rated considerably higher than our offense? Interesting. They must put a lot of weight on Richardson leaving.

Pac12 with 3 in the top 10. Nice.

 

[BuffClass90]

California above us? Hmmm...

 

[absinthe]

overrated.

 

[Lukeasaurus]

How is Fresno State below us?.... Are they only playing with half a team next year?

 

[Quattro]

How is Fresno State below us?.... Are they only playing with half a team next year?

Because they lost everyone

 

[sackman]

Interesting. On the one hand, it's nice that we're not in the 120's, which is where we were in 2012. OTOH, it sucks that we're still the worst in the Pac 12.

 

[gone native]

This is the Pac-12 based on this power index:

Oregon	2
UCLA	5
Stanford	8
USC	13
ASU	16
Washington	27
Oregon State	28
Arizona	32
Utah	40
WSU	49
California	63
Colorado	66

CU is last in the Pac-12, but ahead of 62 other division 1 teams nationally.

 

[Liver]

i believe ucla is living a lie. i think they are going to be exposed as the choking powder blue dogs they are. i have no rational reason to believe this-- mora is a good coach and they have good talent. but, still, i remain convinced that they are going to roll up into the fetal position and quit this season.

 

[whatthebuff]

UMass is in the relegation zone. We need to beat them by 50.

 

[BuffWarHog]

UC Berkley ranked ahead of CU. Wow.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[J.R. Ewing]

We beat a demoralized, injury devastated Cal team at home last year for our only Pac12 win. A healthy Cal on the road is a much, much different match up.

 

[Quattro]

We beat a demoralized, injury devastated Cal team at home last year for our only Pac12 win. A healthy Cal on the road is a much, much different match up.

We also thought that after all the injuries we had in 2011...

Attrition has killed Cal and their fundamentals were dreadful last year.

 

[sackman]

Cal has talent on their roster. They will likely be favored when we play them in Berkely. Unless they have a Hawkins-esque collapse, they'll be tougher this year than last. Of course, I'm expecting us to be tougher as well.

 

[J.R. Ewing]

Cal has talent on their roster. They will likely be favored when we play them in Berkely. Unless they have a Hawkins-esque collapse, they'll be tougher this year than last. Of course, I'm expecting us to be tougher as well.

Exactly. It'll be a tough game either way. You can bet that Cal's version of tini has this game marked as a near-certain win too.

 

[Buffnik]

Hard to tell with that.

I'm not confident we have a Top 50 defense. That would exceed my expectations.

But I also think our Special Teams is rated way too low. If we're at #111 with seniors at kicker & punter, heads need to roll after the season.

 

[sackman]

Exactly. It'll be a tough game either way. You can bet that Cal's version of tini has this game marked as a near-certain win too.

Why don't you ask him yourself? 'Flukes, what's your take on the CU/Cal game?

 

[J.R. Ewing]

Why don't you ask him yourself? 'Flukes, what's your take on the CU/Cal game?

Joking is all well and good, but a line just got crossed.

 

[Darian3Hagan]

Why don't you ask him yourself? 'Flukes, what's your take on the CU/Cal game?

Sacked

 

[MtnBuff]

i believe ucla is living a lie. i think they are going to be exposed as the choking powder blue dogs they are. i have no rational reason to believe this-- mora is a good coach and they have good talent. but, still, i remain convinced that they are going to roll up into the fetal position and quit this season.

You have history to back you up.

UCLA is one of those programs that should be great. They have a school with access to big resources, a large alumni base and overall fan base in a city with a huge population.

The sit in the middle of one of the richer recruiting grounds in the country with a good school to recruit to. They have great weather, hot chicks, and other reasons for recruits to come.

Despite all this they have had plenty of good teams but have never been able to reach the level of being great. Instead they have a history of building up only to slip backwards.

This years UCLA team has a bunch of highly talented athletes but this wouldn't be the first time that a talented UCLA team lays an egg.

 

[MtnBuff]

Joking is all well and good, but a line just got crossed.

Insert UBL here "______________________________________________"

 

[Quattro]

You have history to back you up.

UCLA is one of those programs that should be great. They have a school with access to big resources, a large alumni base and overall fan base in a city with a huge population.

The sit in the middle of one of the richer recruiting grounds in the country with a good school to recruit to. They have great weather, hot chicks, and other reasons for recruits to come.

Despite all this they have had plenty of good teams but have never been able to reach the level of being great. Instead they have a history of building up only to slip backwards.

This years UCLA team has a bunch of highly talented athletes but this wouldn't be the first time that a talented UCLA team lays an egg.

Hell, they damn near laid an egg against us last year. And at Utah. And at Arizona. And Washington. And Arizona State.

Ok, I'm going a little overboard with all those games, but I hadn't looked at UCLA's 2013 season at all and didn't realize how close some of their games were. They still won as many as they should have per their raw pythag score, but that was surprising to me. They've got a whole lot of talent and a very good QB, it would not surprise me to see them win the conference and be in the talk for a playoff spot, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see them struggle to 9 wins and a disappointing season.

 

[TimmyDUBs]

i believe ucla is living a lie. i think they are going to be exposed as the choking powder blue dogs they are. i have no rational reason to believe this-- mora is a good coach and they have good talent. but, still, i remain convinced that they are going to roll up into the fetal position and quit this season.

I think statistically there are a lot of teams "living lies" at this time of year, and guessing that one won't be in National Championship territory at the end of the season is almost always a safe guess (except for Bama lately.) It's tough playing well all year without having an off game or two (or if you do, still win.) I think this year in the PAC the teams at the top are much closer together. Oregon, Stanford, UCLA and USC are all in similar places with talent and it might as well be a crapshoot to guess who will come out on top. Shoot, even Arizona or Washington could be the upset picks.