Razorbacks Come In Above At Least One SEC Team in FPI Rankings

Arkansas ahead of Mississippi State, other Power Four stragglers going into of 2026 season

Nov 1, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs running back Davon Booth (6) scores a touchdown in the first quarter against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — ESPN's Football Power Index (FPi) isn't very high on the Hogs going into the 2026 season — not that anyone is.

Arkansas slots in at 47th overall, which doesn't sound too bad. However, the Razorbacks are only above one other SEC team in Mississippi State (49), which is going into its third season under head coach Jeff Lebby.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Ryan Silverfield at spring practice. | Nilsen Roman-allHOGS Images

Arkansas' projected win/loss totals according to ESPN's FPI is 4.3/7.7.

While Arkansas is only above one other SEC team, they come in higher than 21 Power Four teams, the lowest of which is Boston College (78) out of the ACC, which was ranked as the worst Power Four program in college football by ESPN in June. Arkansas came in 61st in that same ranking.

Arkansas came in above head coach Ryan Silverfield's former school in Memphis (74). The only one of its 11 FBS opponents FPI ranks Arkansas higher than is Tulsa (105), which is projected to only win 5.7 games this season under second-year head coach Tre Lamb.

FPI gives Arkansas only a 24.2 percent chance to get to the six-win threshold necessary to earn bowl eligibility, a 0.1 percent chance to win the SEC and a 1.7 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff in its first season under Silverfield.

There’s also just a 0.1 percent chance to make the CFP National Championship Game and a 0.0 percent chance (maybe there are extra decimals above zero somewhere?) to win the national title.

The highest of Arkansas' opponents is Texas, which is ranked No. 2 by FPI. Georgia, which will be Silverfield's first SEC opponent is ranked No. 5, with LSU coming in at No. 9 and Texas A&M ranking 11th. Tennessee (16) is Arkansas' fifth and final 2026 opponent to be inside the top 20.

Missouri, Auburn and South Carolina all made it into the top 25, ranking 21st, 22nd and 23rd, respectively.

The inclusions of Auburn and South Carolina are somewhat surprising, given that Auburn has lost at least seven games in each of the last five seasons and South Carolina is coming off of a 4-8 campaign a season ago.

Vanderbilt (29) is Arkansas' lowest-rated SEC opponent, while Utah (31) is the lowest-ranked Power Four opponent on Arkansas' schedule. North Alabama, an FCS program, was not included.

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