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Updated Post-Week 9 ESPN FPI rankings leave college football fans in disbelief

Joe Cox|
Penn State may be 3-4 and have fired its coach, but ESPN's FPI ratings won't stop believing in the No. 21 Nittany Lions.
Penn State may be 3-4 and have fired its coach, but ESPN's FPI ratings won't stop believing in the No. 21 Nittany Lions. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Penn State Nittany LionsGeorgia Tech Yellow JacketsTexas Longhorns

Another week of college football yields another week of hard to justify FPI ratings from ESPN. Yes, the ratings are computerized. But college football fans having a look at the post-Week 9 ratings might wonder how hard the computer was dropped before it computed the ratings. Here's a rundown of some angry or confused or just plain miffed college football fans pondering the follies of post-Week 9 FPI ratings.

There's certainly plenty of fuel for criticism. A 3-4 team is ranked four spots above an 8-0 (power four) team. Two teams with losses appear in the top 7. Despite the Big Ten grabbing the top three spots, the SEC has 11 teams ranked between No. 4 and No. 24. But here's a deeper dive on some of the social media snark after the newest FPI numbers.

Penn State still?

Like a scorned lover, FPI just can't let go of Penn State. The Nittany Lions are on a four-game losing streak that saw a couple of historically bad losses and got their coach fired. But there they sit at No. 21 in the FPI rankings.

Tech still getting wrecked

On the other side, 8-0 Georgia Tech FINALLY made its FPI Top 25 debut. At No. 25. Up an entire spot from last week's No. 26 ranking. How a team with a clear road to the College Football Playoff sits behind a pair of teams with four-losses is a mathematical quagmire to many fans.

Texas turmoil?

Another ranking that has to be controversial is two-loss Texas at No. 7. This is off Texas needing overtime to win against Kentucky and Mississippi State in the last two week. The Longhorns might not crack No. 7 in many SEC Power Rankings this week.

General shade

But as usual, the best reactions are reserved for those who are incredulous with the whole broken rating system. There's never any lack of that type of reaction.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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