Teams Rising & Falling in New ESPN FPI Rankings

For every UCLA in Week 1, there's a Rutgers making the drop. ESPN's FPI had a wild Week 1.

Week 1's nightmare loss to UMass leaves Rutgers tumbling in ESPN's FPI rankings. (Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week 1 had plenty of non-competitive games that didn't necessarily move the needle for fans... but computers are a different story. ESPN's much-hyped (and criticized) FPI rankings seek to define the college football landscape, and some teams made massive jumps or dips after their Week 1 performances. We'll hold it to the four power conferences here, but these are the teams that made the biggest leaps or dips in FPI after Week 1.

Rising

Bob Chesney and UCLA were FPI's biggest Week 1 gainers. (Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

UCLA (up 18 spots to 46th)

The Bruins emerged as the big winners of Week 1 off a 45-24 win over Cal. ESPN's metrics were impressed enough that FPI gives the Bruins a 3.1% chance at making the CFP. While that seems a little premature, it was quite a jump for the Bruins.

Mississippi State (up 16 spots to 33rd)

The Bulldogs steam-rolled Louisiana-Monroe en route to a substantial FPI leap. QB Kamario Taylor's 354 passing yards and four scores were impressive and ESPN now projects the Bulldogs with a 3.7% shot at the CFP. Pretty good for a team still ranked 13th in its own conference.

Syracuse (up 16 spots to 54th)

Syracuse didn't even play an FBS opponent, but fattened up on New Hampshire by a 66-3 margin. The computers must have been impressed by a 513-159 yardage margin in the game. The Orange climbed toward the middle of the ACC pack and now have a projected 2.0% chance to earn a CFP berth.

Falling

Rutgers (down 29 spots to 96th)

There's losing and then there's losing by 16 to a 29.5 point underdog that went 0-12 last year. Yes, that was week 1 for Rutgers, whose FPI ranking accordingly plummeted. At 96th, the Scarlet Knights are dead last among power four teams and not only do they not have a CFP pulse, ESPN gives them just a 4.1% chance at reaching six wins this year.

Clemson (down 23 spots to 42nd)

The slide from 19th to 42nd was a big drop, but after a 51-10 beating from LSU, Clemson may still have further to fall. The good news, if it can be called that, is that ESPN still gives the Tigers a 2.8% chance to reach the CFP. That said, it gives them a 58.8% chance at six wins, so the more likely scenario would fall under some version of crash and burn.

NC State (down 20 spots to 71st)

Week 1 was not kind to the Wolfpack, who took a brutal 34-8 loss at Virginia. While they stay out of the ACC basement, they're looking at a 40.2% chance of even winning six games. Not good news for coach Dave Doeren.