ESPN released its FPI (football power index) for this year’s college football season, which acts as its official preseason rankings for the 2025 season. It’s an index that considers a ton of measurements to determine a team’s strength headed into a season, but it misses one critical factor in college football, “fun-ness”.
While fun-ness technically isn’t a word, it’s definitely a vibe, a vibe that resonates and reverberates throughout the team and makes the exciting not only to watch but also to play as in EA Sports College Football.
When I’m looking into what team I want to play as when I play against buddies, I always use my (patent-pending) Fun-ness playing index or FPI (for legal reasons, I must say that it is a total coincidence that the acronym is the same as ESPN’s). How is my FPI calculated? Well, I’m glad you asked… I use a proprietary formula to calculate just how fun a team is to play, and then I give it an arbitrary ranking.
When calculating my projected ranking for CFB 26, I had to take into account players added via the transfer portal and recruiting, as well as players lost to the NFL draft. Let’s now examine how my fun-ness index rankings compare to ESPN’s rankings.
Top Teams According To ESPN’s FPI Ranking
Texas
ESPN FPI rank: 1
My projected game FPI rank: 3
Texas had its first number one recruiting class in program history this year. Why? It’s all about Arch Manning. The Buzz around Arch and the plethora of talent on this team are enough to make players, both real and virtual, flock to Austin and make pundits question whether this team is potentially a favorite to win it all. They have a thousand-yard rusher from last year in RB Quintrevion Wisner, two five-star WRs in Kaliq Lockett and Ryan Wingo, as well as one of the best defensive players in the country, Anthony Hill Jr. This team should be a lot of fun to play against.
Georgia
ESPN FPI rank: 2
My projected game FPI rank: 7
It’s not a surprise that Georgia is up here; their defense has consistently been the best in college football over the last decade, and that’s no different this year. They should be great defensively with K.J. Bolden and Daylen Everette in the secondary and C.J. Allen at the Money position. On offense, they have redshirt junior Gunner Stockton at QB with transfer WRs Zachariah Branch (503 yards, 1 TD) and Noah Thomas (574 yards, 8 TDs) as their most proven playmakers on the outside. They also have transfer running back Josh McCray (609 yards, 10 TDs), who was dominant for Illinois last year. They may not be as loaded in the game this year as last year, but they’ll still be a top team this year, and their fun-ness index may take a hit due to Gunner Stockton not being the most mobile QB out there.
Alabama
ESPN FPI rank: 3
My projected game FPI rank: 5
Ryan Williams is one of the two cover athletes, which automatically makes this team a must-play as far as most EA CFB players are concerned. Alabama has always been a favorite because of how dominant they have been and what their legacy in college football means for the game. Outside of Ryan Williams, they also have transfer WR Isaiah Horton from Miami (616 yards, 5 TDs), senior receiver and former transfer Germie Bernard (794 yards, 2 TDs and electric running back Jam Miller (668, 7 TDs) to round out an offense around Junior QB Ty Simpson, who might not be as fun as Jalen Milroe to play as. However, he should still be effective in the game. They also have a solid defense group with a handful of players destined for the League.
Ohio State
ESPN FPI rank: 4
My projected game FPI rank: 2
Based on ratings from last year, the Buckeyes are likely to have the highest-rated player in the game in Safety Caleb Downs. He and LB Sonny Styles will be beasts on the defensive side, but their offense is really exciting. I’m just saying, I think they could be special this year with redshirt freshman and former five-star QB Julian Sayin under center with a group of highly talented weapons around him. Of course, they have cover athlete Jeremiah Smith (1315, 15 TDs), Junior, Carnell Tate (733, 4 TDs), and five-star freshman Quincy Porter at receiver. A pair of transfers in Purdue tight end Max Klare (685, 4 TDs) and West Virginia running back CJ Donaldson (734, 11 TDs) should solidify this offense into one of the more exciting ones in the game.
Penn State
ESPN FPI rank: 5
My projected game FPI rank: 4
Led by star QB Drew Allar, who will likely be one of the highest rated QBs in the game, and a run game that will see two thousand yard rushers from last year return for their senior seasons, this might be the most complete team in college football, but are they fun? Considering they have three guys that had three or more picks last year returning this season (Rojas, DeLuca, and Wheatley) and a player that had 8.5 sacks (Dennis-Sutton), I would say this team is going to be one of the most fun teams on offense and defense.
Oregon
ESPN FPI rank: 6
My projected game FPI rank: 1
Oregon has one of the best playbooks in the game and plays a super-fast style of play that oozes fun in-game. Now, you add a mobile five-star athlete, Dante Moore from UCLA, at QB, and you’ve got a recipe for one fantastic team! Once you add another five-star D. Moore to the offense in the form of the highly anticipated freshman receiver Dakorien Moore, you’ve got a potentially insane offense. Add 1,401 yards of rushing potential in Tulane RB transfer Makhi Hughes, who was one of the most productive backs in college football last year, and this offense is going to explode! At least in the game… in real life, this is an unproven and taped-together group of transfers and freshmen who could collapse like a house of cards in season, but in the game, they should be elite. Don’t forget that defensively, they also have one of the best edge rushers in college football in Matayo Uiagalelei (10.5 sacks last year).
Notre Dame
ESPN FPI rank: 7
My projected game FPI rank: 15
I don’t know much about projected starting QB CJ Carr, but he was a four-star recruit who didn’t produce much rushing production in high school (91 yards on 59 rushes in his senior season), so he may not be the most exciting player to use as. They do, of course, have star RB Jeremiyah Love, who ran for 1125 yards and 17 TDs last year, but he and transfer receiver Malachi Fields (808 yards and 5 TDs at Virginia last year) may represent the majority of the offensive potential. Their defense has a really good secondary, but they don’t get a lot of sacks or turnovers, so the fun index takes a hit.
Texas A&M
ESPN FPI rank: 8
My projected game FPI rank: 10
None of A&M’s current receivers had 500+ yards last season (Transfer KC Concepcion had 800 yards in 2023 but regressed last year), nor did any of their RBs have over a thousand yards. QB Marcel Reed was decent but not outstanding last year in the air with a 15-6 TD-pick ratio and only 186 yards, but made up for it with over 500 yards rushing and 7 TDs on the ground. Their defense lost quite a few stars in the draft this season, but they should recover with the addition of five defensive transfers.
Miami
ESPN FPI rank: 9
My projected game FPI rank: 11
The Hurricanes replaced their star Transfer QB in the 2025 NFL number one pick in the draft, Cam Ward, with another star transfer looking to bolster his NFL draft stock in Georgia’s former starter, Carson Beck. The Hurricanes are looking to replace most of their receiving corps with a trio of transfers, none of whom have put up dominant numbers yet in their career, but have the potential to do so. Speaking of transfers, nearly their entire defensive secondary will be transfers this season. Their strength on defense is clearly on the edges with Akheem Mesidor (5.5 sacks) and Reuben Bain Jr. (3.5 sacks) set to make big leaps in production this season.
Tennessee
ESPN FPI rank: 10
My projected game FPI rank: 25
Tennessee is taking a risk by trotting out Appalachian State transfer Joey Aguilar as their starting quarterback, but I suppose Nico left them no choice. Tennessee doesn’t have any receivers with a proven track record of production (Chris Brazzell II had the most yards of the group with 333). The Volunteers may need to rely on their defense to win in the way ESPN says they will.
My Top Ten Fun-ness Index Teams
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Penn State
- Alabama
- South Carolina
- Georgia
- Clemson
- Utah
- Texas A&M
