ESPN rankings split on Clemson, Alabama at top after week one

ESPN's flagship college football metric now favors the Crimson Tide after having Clemson a preseason No. 1.

Brandon Rink · Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer · Tuesday, September 03 2019

ESPN's Football Power Index has a new No. 1 after the holiday weekend, moving Alabama (29.6) to the top over Clemson (29.2).

Clemson is still given the best chance by far to win out (50.1), easily ahead of Alabama (19.7), Boise State (12.8), Oklahoma (7.9) and Penn State (7.3).

New to the ESPN analytics realm is Bill Connelly, formerly of Football Outsiders and SB Nation, and his SP+ ranking metric. The SP+ had Alabama No. 1 preseason and that remained unchanged after week one, with the Crimson Tide (36.6) ahead of Clemson (31.3), LSU (29.8), Georgia (27.3) and Wisconsin (22.8).

Elsewhere on the site, ESPN's power rankings still have the Tigers No. 1.

"Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence struggled a bit during defending national champion Clemson's opener," ESPN's Mark Schlabach wrote, "throwing two interceptions in a 52-14 rout of Georgia Tech. But reigning ACC Player of the Year Travis Etienne picked up where he left off, running 12 times for 205 yards with three touchdowns. Remarkably, the Tigers have averaged more yards on Etienne's runs (8.6) than Lawrence's passes (8.2) during the past two seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information."

His top-5 is filled out after Clemson with Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State.

ESPN FPI Top-5 (9/3)

1. Alabama (29.6)

2. Clemson (29.2)

3. LSU (25.8)

4. Georgia (23.8)

5. Penn State (21.3)