ESPN has released the latest SP+ rankings for all 136 FBS teams following Week 8 of the 2025 college football season, with Ohio State maintaining its position as the top-ranked team. This update provides a predictive measure of team efficiency, reflecting recent game outcomes and setting the stage for playoff contention.
The SP+ system, developed by ESPN analyst Bill Connelly, is a tempo- and opponent-adjusted metric designed to evaluate college football efficiency in a forward-facing manner. It focuses on sustainable aspects of the game, such as offensive and defensive performance, while gradually phasing out preseason projections as the season progresses. Unlike résumé-based rankings, SP+ aims to predict future outcomes rather than reward past achievements, making it a valuable tool for assessing team strength. The model accounts for factors like pace of play and strength of opposition, offering insights into which teams are most likely to perform well in upcoming games.
In the current rankings, Ohio State leads with a rating of 27.8, bolstered by a strong offense and defense. Oregon follows closely at 26.0, with Indiana rounding out the top three at 25.4, highlighting their undefeated records and consistent play. Texas Tech and Oklahoma complete the top five, showcasing balanced performances that have kept them in playoff discussions. The top ten includes Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Missouri, Alabama, and Georgia, each with ratings above 19.0, indicating a highly competitive landscape at the season’s midpoint.
Significant movements occurred in the rankings after Week 8, with Alabama climbing four spots to ninth and Vanderbilt jumping four places to fifteenth due to key victories. Conversely, Ole Miss fell five spots to twelfth and Tennessee dropped seven to eighteenth after losses, demonstrating how single games can rapidly alter perceptions of team strength. Other notable shifts include SMU rising seven spots to thirty-seventh and James Madison ascending twelve places to forty-seventh, underscoring the unpredictability of college football and the model’s responsiveness to recent performances.
Beyond the overall rankings, SP+ incorporates strength of schedule (SOS) and résumé SP+ ratings to provide deeper context. Indiana leads the résumé SP+ with a score of 9.0, indicating it has outperformed expectations against its schedule, while Ohio State follows at 6.6. Florida holds the toughest SOS with a rating of 0.737, meaning an average top-five team would win about 73.7% of games against its slate. These metrics help contextualize team achievements, revealing that some highly ranked teams face easier paths, while others navigate more challenging environments.
The 2025 season is entering a critical phase, with conference races and College Football Playoff berths on the line. The SP+ rankings suggest that teams like Ohio State and Oregon are well-positioned for deep runs, given their efficient play on both sides of the ball. However, contenders such as Alabama and Georgia are closing the gap, setting up potential showdowns in the SEC and other power conferences. As the model updates weekly, it will continue to refine its predictions, offering fans and analysts a reliable gauge of team potential.
Implications for the playoff picture are already emerging, with the top SP+ teams likely to feature prominently in selection discussions. The ratings emphasize that efficiency, rather than mere wins and losses, could influence final standings, especially in a season with several one-loss teams vying for spots. Upcoming games against ranked opponents will test these rankings, providing opportunities for teams to prove their mettle or expose weaknesses. For now, the data points to a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, with multiple programs in contention for national recognition.
In summary, the updated SP+ rankings offer a data-driven snapshot of college football’s current hierarchy, emphasizing predictive power over historical achievement. As teams prepare for the final stretch, these metrics will play a key role in shaping narratives and expectations, highlighting the importance of consistent, efficient performance in the pursuit of championships.