The Ohio State Buckeyes remain on top of ESPN’s FPI not just in the Big Ten but in the country entering Week 7 of the 2023 college football season.
The Buckeyes are now 5-0 on the season after a 37-17 win over the Maryland Terrapins this past weekend. Right behind the Buckeyes, however, are their two Big Ten East rivals, the Penn State Nittany Lions and Michigan Wolverines.
Currently, Penn State has the edge on Michigan, with the seventh-best FPI nationally, to Michigan’s 8th, but for the first time in a while, the Wolverines now have a better chance to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoffs than the Nittany Lions.
The FPI gives Michigan a 21.7% chance to win the Big Ten, a slight edge over Penn State’s 21.3%. The Wolverines also have a 28.4% chance to make the playoffs, compared to Penn State’s 27.3%. Ohio State still has a firm lead over both teams when it comes to winning the conference and making the playoffs at 42.2% and 53.2% respectively.
In the Big Ten West, the Wisconsin Badgers remain the favorite to win the division and have the best chance to win the Big Ten outside the Big 3 according to the FPI at 11%. Outside the Badgers, the only other team that has a higher than a 1% chance to win the Big Ten is the Iowa Hawkeyes at 3.2%.
Here’s how ESPN breaks down the rest of the Big Ten:
| RANK | Team | W-L | Conf. W-L | FPI (Rank) | Win Conf. % | Make Playoff % |
| 1 | Ohio State | 5-0 | 2-0 | 21.1 (1) | 42.2 | 53.2 |
| 2 | Penn State | 5-0 | 3-0 | 23.6 (7) | 21.3 | 27.3 |
| 3 | Michigan | 6-0 | 3-0 | 23.3 (8) | 21.7 | 28.4 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 4-1 | 2-1 | 11.3 (23) | 11.0 | 0.3 |
| 5 | Maryland | 5-1 | 2-1 | 11.0 (24) | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 6 | Iowa | 5-1 | 2-1 | 6.7 (35) | 3.2 | 0.2 |
| 7 | Rutgers | 4-2 | 1-2 | 3.6 (49) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 8 | Purdue | 2-4 | 1-2 | 1.5 (56) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 9 | Michigan State | 2-3 | 0-2 | 0.5 (60) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 3-3 | 1-2 | 0.3 (61) | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 3-3 | 1-2 | -0.3 (66) | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| 12 | Illinois | 2-4 | 1-3 | -1.9 (75) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 13 | Indiana | 2-3 | 0-2 | -3.7 (82) | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Northwestern | 3-3 | 0-2 | -4.9 (88) | 0.0 | 0.0 |