ESPN predictive metrics have new No. 1 in college football title race

According to ESPN's Bill Connelly, the father of the famed SP+ metrics, there's a new No. 1 across the board in his latest set of rankings following Week 9

An ESPN microphone | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

There's a new sheriff in SP+ land proudly boasting that No. 1 badge. According to ESPN's Bill Connelly, father of the famed SP+ metrics, the Indiana Hoosiers have overtaken Ohio State for the top spot.

You can see the SP+ top 25 just below or check it out at ESPN. Remember, it's an anlytics-based formula adjusting for tempo and quality of opponent that aims to be more predictive and forward-thinkwing rather than merely reflective of what's happened.

After that, we'll look at another of Connelly's numbers, the Resume SP+, which is a better reflection of which teams have collected the strongest records against the strongest schedules so far. For now, check out the SP+ Top 25 following Week 9's action:

SP+ Top 25: Week 10

1. Indiana (8-0) | 27.9
2. Ohio State (8-0) | 27.5
3. Oregon (7-1) | 26.9
4. Texas Tech (7-1) | 23.9
5. Texas A&M (8-0) | 21.3
6. Notre Dame (5-2) | 21.1
7. Utah (5-2) | 20.9
8. Oklahoma (6-2) | 20.6
9. Alabama(7-1) | 20.1
10. Ole Miss (7-1) | 19.5
11. Miami (6-1) | 19.5
12. Georgia (6-1) | 19.2
13. Texas (6-2) | 18.1
14. Missouri (6-2) | 18.0
15. Vanderbilt (7-1) | 17.8
16. USC (5-2) | 17.7
17. Iowa (6-2) | 17.6
18. Tennessee (6-2) | 17.0
19. BYU (8-0) | 16.9
20. Penn State (3-4) | 16.8
21. Michigan (6-2) | 16.5
22. Washington (6-2) | 15.3
23. Cincinnati (7-1) | 14.3
24. Louisville (6-1) | 14.0
25. Georgia Tech (8-0) | 13.7
    

Indiana just barely nudges ahead of Ohio State as rankings across the country continue to be a Big Ten showdown. Here, it's a B10 triumbirate at the very top. Although, after another very impressive win at LSU Saturday night, undefeated Texas A&M might have an argument as part of the group of elites alongside the Hoosiers and Buckeyes.

Resume SP+ Rankings

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) celebrates with wide receivers | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

As mentioned a bit above, ESPN and Bill Connelly include as part of the SP+ a resume metric that displays how each team would stack up with an average top-five college football team. Allow him to explain better:

"Résumé SP+ compares each team's scoring margin (capped at 50 points for a given game) to what an average top-five team would be expected to generate against a given opponent," Connelly writes. "If a top-five opponent would be projected to win a game by 10.0 points, and a team wins by 15 instead, that's a +5.0 rating for that game. By the end of the season, only a handful of teams will have a positive rating because clearing a top-five bar is obviously very difficult."

In this one, Indiana is ahead of the pack and doing circles around them...

1. Indiana | 9.9
2. Ohio State | 3.9
3. Texas A&M | -2.5
4. Oregon | -4.3
5. Texas Tech | -6.3
6. BYU | -8
7. Miami | -8.2
8. Georgia | -10.4
9. Georgia Tech | -10.6
10. Notre Dame | -10.9
11. Alabama | -11.4
12. Vanderbilt | -13
13. Utah | -13.5
14. Ole Miss | -13.7
15. Cincinnati | -17.4
16. North Texas | -17.5
17. Oklahoma | -17.6
18. Louisville | -18.5
19. USC | -18.7
20. Memphis | -20
21. Iowa | -20.6
22. Virginia | -20.6
23. Washington | -20.7
24. Navy | -20.9
25. Tennessee | -21.3