After one week of football, ESPN’s matchup predictor has a full slate of data to add to its projections.
Using its Football Power Index, ESPN aims to create the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule.
The FPI offers projections on a team’s projected win-loss total and its win out percentage. It also shares percentages on a team’s chance to reach six wins, win its conference, advance to the College Football Playoff, reach the national championship game and to win the national championship game.
In its first 2023 FPI rankings in April, the Iowa Hawkeyes checked in at No. 37 nationally and were being given a 20.1% chance to win the Big Ten West. Then, in the FPI’s July update, the Hawkeyes were projected to finish 9-3 overall.
Now that the opening week is behind us, it’s time to turn our attention to the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series. What does ESPN’s FPI think about the Hawkeyes following Week 1 and how is it projecting the rivalry date at Iowa State?