Latest news with #ESPNFPI
USA Today
30-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Wisconsin great Melvin Gordon is 'tired of hearing about' Wisconsin's tough 2025 schedule
'𝙒𝙃𝙊 𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙎 𝘼𝘽𝙊𝙐𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝘾𝙃𝙀𝘿𝙐𝙇𝙀… 𝙂𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.' - @Melvingordon25What are YOUR expectations for #Badgers Football heading into training camp? Wisconsin great Melvin Gordon gave his thoughts on the Badgers' upcoming 2025 season during a local radio appearance on Monday. "Everybody's record is 0-0," Gordon began, on with ESPN Madison. "I know they're putting the work in. And people are like, 'Well this, and the coaching, and the players, and the schedule.' I'm so tired of hearing about the schedule. Who cares about the schedule. You have to line it up -- it's upsets every day. Have an upset every week, then, if you feel like you're the underdog. Who cares, go make a name for yourselves. There's no better way to do it. I'm rolling with the Badgers. I'm down in their corner. If we lose, we lose together." Gordon has his focus on those who are highlighting Wisconsin's gauntlet schedule when previewing the team's 2025 season. That includes ProFootballFocus, which listed it as the toughest slate in the country, as well as Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, who said he '[doesn't] know if [Wisconsin] wins three games.' Meanwhile, the Wisconsin legend sounds a lot like Badgers' starting quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who highlighted the opportunity that the challenging schedule presents, with high-profile matchups almost every weekend. Wisconsin begins its 2025 campaign with a home matchup against the Miami (OH) RedHawks. The team's gauntlet then begins after a Week 2 game against Middle Tennessee State. It travels to Alabama (No. 3 in ESPN FPI) and Michigan (No. 17), hosts Iowa (No. 39) and Ohio State (No. 4), visits Oregon (No. 6), hosts Washington (No. 27), travels to Indiana (No. 31), then closes vs. Illinois (No. 44) and at Minnesota (No. 43). Most preseason projections highlight six wins as a realistic benchmark for the team, especially after its full offseason of roster and coaching staff improvements. An eight or nine-win breakthrough may be too much to ask for, given that slate of top-tier opponents and the program's recent form. Gordon is tired of hearing about the difficult slate the Badgers face in 2025. He'll be one of many celebrating if an unforeseen breakthrough occurs. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
USA Today
11-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Five opponents on Tennessee's 2025 football schedule not projected for bowl game
The 2025 college football season will unofficially kick off July 14-17 at Omni Atlanta Hotel at Centennial Park and the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. Fifth-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, along with student-athletes Arion Carter, Miles Kitselman and Bryson Eason, will represent the Vols at SEC media days. Tennessee will kick off its 2025 campaign with a nonconference matchup against Syracuse. The season opening contest is slated for Aug. 30 at noon EDT, and will be televised by ABC. Tennessee's other nonconference games in 2025 are against East Tennessee State, UAB and New Mexico State at Neyland Stadium. The Vols will also host Georgia, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt in 2025, while playing at Mississippi State, Alabama, Kentucky and Florida. Ahead of SEC media days and the upcoming season, ESPN Football Power Index released percentage chances for Tennessee's opponents to become bowl eligible in 2025. ESPN FPI determines a team's bowl eligibility chances by a percent of season simulations, in which a team won at least six games (typically bowl-eligible). Five teams on Tennessee's 2025 football schedule are not projected to play in a bowl game: Mississippi State, New Mexico State, UAB, Syracuse and Vanderbilt. More: 2025 win-loss record projections for all 16 SEC football teams Chances for Tennessee's 2025 football opponents to become bowl eligible *East Tennessee State competes in FCS and is not included Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Tennessee projected to make 12-team College Football Playoff field for 2025 season
Tennessee projected to make 12-team College Football Playoff field for 2025 season Tennessee's 2025 football season will kick off Aug. 30 against Syracuse. The season opener between the Vols and Orange is slated for noon EDT (ABC) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Tennessee enters the 2025 campaign with the tenth best odds to make the 12-team College Football Playoff, according to ESPN Football Power Index rankings. ESPN FPI gives the Vols a 38.5 percent chance in making the 12-team playoff field for the 2025 season. Texas has the best odds to make the College Football Playoff (83.9 percent), while Georgia (78.6), Ohio State (70.6), Alabama (66.2) and Penn State (63.8) are top five for percentage chances to play for a national championship. Oregon (57.5), Clemson (47.3), Miami (46.3), Notre Dame (45.6), Tennessee (38.5), Texas A&M (34.3) and Ole Miss (30.7) are teams ranked No. 6-12, respectively by ESPN FPI to make the 12-team College Football Playoff. Tennessee competed in its first College Football Playoff last season, losing at Ohio State in the first round. More: 2025 Tennessee football post-spring game-by-game predictions PHOTOS: Tennessee-Ohio State first-round College Football Playoff game Follow Vols Wire on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter).
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Auburn receives massive jump in ESPN FPI heading into 2025 season
Auburn receives massive jump in ESPN FPI heading into 2025 season The Auburn Tigers have not lived up to expectations on the gridiron for most of the decade, but with back-to-back highly touted recruiting classes and an abundance of impact transfers on the way, Hugh Freeze's squad is expected to compete for at the top half of the SEC in 2025. Those high expectations were displayed in ESPN's opening Football Power Index rankings, in which Auburn was one of the biggest risers from last year's list. The Tigers checked in at the No. 14 spot in the FPI, sandwiched between a pair of fellow SEC teams in Ole Miss (No. 13) and South Carolina (No. 15). The ranking was a huge jump from where the Tigers finished 2024, as Hugh Freeze's team didn't even finish inside of the top 30 after losing the Iron Bowl and missing out on a bowl game. Auburn's 17 spot jump from No. 31 to No. 14 was the largest among teams currently ranked in the top 20. Hugh Freeze's squad is the only program ranked in the top 15 that did not finish last season ranked in the top 25. While the jump, and the company Auburn has enjoyed because of it, may seem like an ambitious projection, it does make sense when looking at the drastically improved nature of the Tigers roster. Next season's version of the Tigers will feature a new signal caller under center, a myriad of four and five-star recruits on the defensive side of the football, and a receiving duo of Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. that is being described as a top duo in the nation by many experts. The next step for Hugh Freeze's squad is to prove it on Saturdays in the fall. If they don't, the No. 14 team in FPI will fall right back to No. 31 before long. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Brian on Twitter@TheRealBHauch
USA Today
07-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How ESPN's Football Power Index ranks Auburn's 2025 opponents
How ESPN's Football Power Index ranks Auburn's 2025 opponents Half of Auburn's 2025 opponents begin the season ranked in the top 25 of ESPN's Football Power Index rankings. For anyone in the SEC, the schedule is always a grueling one. Despite the conference not having a national championship in the last two seasons, the league is still regarded by most as the best in college football. The Auburn schedule for 2025 is a tough one, but it is also a manageable one. The conference schedule is the same as 2024 except the home and away portion is flipped. The Tigers add Baylor, Ball State, South Alabama, and Mercer to the schedule. This week ESPN released their Football Power Index rankings, and Auburn ranks No. 14 in the country. The FPI gives Auburn a win prediction of 7.5 games with a 21.8% chance of making the College Football Playoff. Eight wins would be a huge improvement after the previous four seasons, but is it enough for Hugh Freeze? Time will only tell on that discussion. The schedule of opponents will also go a long way in determining the final record. Auburn will be playing good teams most weeks. The opener versus Baylor will be important, and a 1-0 start is pivotal. The FPI is projecting the Bears to go 7-5 this upcoming season and place sixth in the Big 12. Baylor closed out the regular season with six consecutive wins before losing the LSU in their bowl game. They finished 8-5 and will be looking to continue their 2024 momentum. Auburn will host the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the FPI rankings this season in Alabama and Georgia. Both teams are projected to win ten games and play in the College Football Playoff. Auburn has not beaten the Crimson Tide since 2019, and it has been even longer since they beat the Bulldogs. The last win over Georgia was in 2017. Auburn will have a tricky two-game stretch early in the season when they visit Oklahoma and Texas A&M in back-to-back weeks. The Sooners are looking to be more competitive this season and FPI has projected them at seven wins. The Aggies win total is projected at eight wins, and they should be a team in the College Football Playoff discussion. The road trip to Norman, Oklahoma could be an emotional game. Quarterback Jackson Arnold will be looking to have a big game versus his former team. Here is a look at Auburn's schedule, broken down by ESPN FPI ranking: Oct. 11 vs. Georgia (No. 2) Nov. 29 vs. Alabama (No. 3) Sept. 27 at Texas A&M (No. 8) Sept. 20 at Oklahoma (No. 16) Oct. 25 at Arkansas (No. 22) Oct. 18 vs. Missouri (No. 23) Aug. 28 at Baylor (No. 33) Nov. 1 vs. Kentucky (No. 34) Nov. 8 at Vanderbilt (No. 56) Sept. 13 vs. South Alabama (No. 83) Sept. 6 vs. Ball State (No. 132) Nov. 22 vs. Mercer (FCS-N/A) Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__
