Texas football bounced from the top 10 of latest ESPN FPI
This week’s version of the ESPN Football Power Index has Texas football down two spots to No. 12, getting bounced from the top 10 after the off weekend.
Heading into Week 13 of a roller coaster ride of a college football season in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Texas football program and fourth-year head coach Tom Herman have a really important game looming. Texas is coming out of a de facto double bye week to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Black Friday on Nov. 27 in the home finale.
Not only could this be the last game that we see from senior star quarterback Sam Ehlinger at home at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for his college career, it could be the make-or-break game for the entire Longhorns season. Beat Iowa State and the Longhorns have a firm path to the Big 12 Championship Game for a rematch with the Oklahoma Sooners.
Fall short of Iowa State and the Longhorns will be in a position to get a mid-level bowl game and effectively dash their hopes of getting a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. That would also be a tough spot for Herman to find himself in since he likely needs to win out this regular season to keep firm job security.
Where the Longhorns stack up both in the Big 12 and in the national scene was updated in the latest edition of ESPN’s Football Power Index. In this week’s FPI, the Longhorns actually fell two spots. That bounced Texas from the top 10, despite not playing in their originally scheduled game last weekend against the Kansas Jayhawks on the road due to COVID-19 related issues.
They are now projected to finish the season with a record of 8-3 (with rough estimates of the FPI calculation), if you include the postseason. The FPI also gives Texas a 27 percent chance to win out, 25.4 percent chance to win the conference, and just a 0.1 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff.
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The Longhorns carry a record of 5-2 (4-2 Big 12) heading into the Iowa State game, with their latest result coming back on Nov. 7 at home in a win over the West Virginia Mountaineers, by the narrow final score of 17-13. Texas holds the No. 21 slot in this week’s AP Poll and No. 22 in the Coaches Poll.