Penn State catches tough break in latest ESPN Football Power Index

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It appeared to be a great week for Penn State, but ESPN had a much different interpretation of how the college football slate unfolded last weekend. Despite a Nittany Lions win over Temple, their Football Power Index score dropped to 16.4, which is down from a 17.2 score on the last version of the index.

To make things even more confusing, Oregon had a heartbreaking loss to Oklahoma State, while Ohio State blew a 20-point lead to the Texas Longhorns — yet Penn State’s odds to win the Big Ten still dropped. It now has a 7.8% chance of winning the conference, down slightly from last week’s 8.2% chance.

Of course, the Ducks and Buckeyes are still among the class of the Big Ten, but it’s strange that Penn State’s odds went up last week after wins from those teams, and now the odds have dropped. Additionally, ESPN gives the Nittany Lions a lower chance of making the College Football Playoff now, with a 29.1% chance as opposed to 31.5% last week.

Michigan did have a nice bounce back this week, beating formerly No. 11-ranked Oklahoma, but it didn’t seem like enough to negatively affect Penn State. The two schools play each other later in the year, so we’ll see who is truly better in due time.

All in all, it’s a frustrating week for the Nittany Lions on the Football Power Index. They moved up on both the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Poll, so it seems like ESPN is one of the few publications that are down on Penn State.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State catches tough break in latest ESPN Football Power Index

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