ESPN's Computer Changes College Football Playoff Top 12 After Week 3
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ESPN’s computer model, the Football Power Index, has changed its College Football Playoff Top 12 projections after Saturday’s games.
Week 3 of the 2026 college football regular season was a big one. Ole Miss took down LSU in the Lane Kiffin game. The Rebels stayed undefeated on the year, while the Tigers lost for the first time.
Both teams are expected to be in the College Football Playoff mix moving forward.
But who is currently in line to make it?
ESPN’s computer model, the Football Power Index, changed its College Football Playoff top 12 projections following Week 3.
Here’s the latest Top 12, via ESPN’s computer model:
- Texas
- Notre Dame
- Miami
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- Utah
- BYU
How ESPN’s computer model works
ESPN’s computer model is a projection-based system, that uses 1,000s of simulations to update its predictions each day.
“The Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete,” ESPN’s computer writes.
Week 4 of the 2026 college football regular season will be a big one, too, highlighted by the Texas vs. Tennessee game, which will be featured on “College GameDay.”
This story was originally published by The Spun on Sep 21, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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