BYU Football Projected To Win Eight Games By ESPN Football Power Index
Jul 8, 2019, 3:47 PM
BOISE, ID - NOVEMBER 3: Quarterback Zach Wilson #11 of the BYU Cougars scrambles away from pressure during first half action against the Boise State Broncos on November 3, 2018 at Albertsons Stadium in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
(Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)
PROVO, Utah – One of the turning points in the off-season leading up to the next college football campaign is ESPN’s FPI win probabilities.
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) doles out winning percentage probabilities for every team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The results are updated every week during the season.
The Football Power Index is pretty high BYU football in 2019. The Cougars are favored to win (based on win probabilities) in eight of their games in the 2019 season.
BYU checks in at number 44 in the FPI rankings. The four games where BYU is an underdog according to the FPI are the first four contests of the season. All four of those games come against Power Five opponents and all four of those teams are ranked in the FPI’s pre-season Top 25.
Here are the win probabilities for BYU football by ESPN’s FPI.
August 29th: vs. Utah (22nd in FPI rankings) – 39.5%
September 7th: at Tennessee (15th) – 18.6%
September 14th: vs. USC (25th) – 45.4%
September 21st: vs. Washington (17th) – 35.8%
September 28th: at Toledo (77th) – 64.6%
October 12th: at South Florida (73rd) – 64.2%
October 19th: vs. Boise State (42nd) – 57.3%
November 2nd: at Utah State (83rd) – 74.5%
November 9th: vs. Liberty (114th) – 94.1%
November 16th: vs. Idaho State (NR) – 98.1%
November 23rd: at UMass (125th out of 130) – 91.3%
November 30th: at San Diego State (78th) – 67.8%
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Interesting to see Tennessee as the highest ranked team by the ESPN FPI that BYU will face in 2019. The Volunteers head into their second season with head coach Jeremy Pruitt and look to make significant strides this fall after missing a bowl game in Pruitt’s first season.
Surprising to see Utah State checking in at 83 on the FPI rankings. It’s possible with all the changes to both the staff and personnel (50 newcomers) that bring the Aggies lower than expected on the rankings.
For all the doom and gloom scenarios surrounding USC Football, the Trojans check in at number 25 on the FPI rankings as Clay Helton enters a make-or-break year in Troy.
Went in greater detail regarding the ESPN FPI projections for BYU football in today’s episode of the Cougar Tracks podcast which you can listen to below.
You can subscribe to the Cougar Tracks Podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and any other major podcasting platform.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
