Ranking Big Ten football teams via ESPN SP+ post-spring rankings

A much better ranking than ESPN’s FPI from last month.

There was much derision over the post-spring college football advanced analytics last month when ESPN FPI put some teams that have struggled to be “back” in the upper echelon of the elite this season — while others expected to be among the best lagged. The other advanced analytics model, SP+ by Bill Connelly, looks to correct that.

Last week, Connelly revealed his pecking order of the full complement of college football teams with the post-spring update of his SP+ metrics. SP+ takes into account returning production, recent history and recruiting to evaluate how each team stands in comparison to the others. It’s tempo and opponent-adjusted, as well.

Here’s how all 14 Big Ten teams rank heading into 2023.