The first three games of BYU's 2023 season are in the books. The Cougars took down Arkansas on Saturday in a 38-31 back-and-forth game. BYU is 3-0 as it heads to Kansas to take on the Jayhwawks in the first Big 12 game in program history. The Jayhawks are also 3-0 and coming off a 31-24 win over Nevada. ESPN's predictive college football algorithm, the football power index, updated its prediction for BYU-Kansas. FPI gives BYU a 43.5% chance to beat Kansas on the road.
FPI was wrong about BYU last week. FPI only gave BYU only a 20.9% chance to beat the Razorbacks. Coming off a win over Southern Utah, FPI projected BYU to finish with a 4.5-7.5 record and gave BYU just a 25.5% chance to finish with six or more wins. After the win over Arkansas, FPI upgraded BYU's projected record to 6.1-5.9. The Power Index now gives BYU a 63.2% chance to finish with six or more wins.
BYU started the 2023 season ranked 60th in FPI. The Cougars dropped to 70th after the first two weeks and lowest in the Big 12. With the win over Arkansas, BYU improved 14 spots to 56th in the country and leapfrogged four Big 12 peers. BYU is now ranked above Kansas (58), Baylor (65), Oklahoma State (69), Houston (77).
Oklahoma leapfrogged Texas as the highest-ranking Big 12 team in the FPI rankings - the Sooners rank second nationally.
Big 12 FPI Rankings
- Oklahoma - 2nd nationally
- Texas - 7th nationally
- UCF - 21st nationally
- Kansas State - 22nd nationally
- TCU - 30th nationally
- Texas Tech - 32nd nationally
- Cincinnati - 37th nationally
- Iowa State - 50th nationally
- West Virginia - 54th nationally
- BYU - 56th nationally
- Kansas - 58th nationally
- Baylor - 65th nationally
- Oklahoma State - 69th nationally
- Houston - 77th nationally
In the FPI model, Oklahoma is given 55.1% chance to win the conference and Texas is second at 31.6%. UCF is third in line with a 3.6% chance to win the Big 12.
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