Mizzou Cracks Top 25 of ESPN's Power Index Rankings

The Missouri Tigers have been left out of the top 25 in most people's preseason rankings, but the Tigers made the cut in ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) rankings.

The FPI estimates each FBS team's strengths on all three sides of the ball, taking into account all roster movement. Then, those strength projections are run through a simulation of the team's schedule 20,000 times to calculate average projections for a team's success on the season.

Overall, Missouri ranks No. 23 for projected strength, and carries a projected a win-loss total of 6.9-5.2. The Tigers are also ranked as the No. 17 defense in the country with a FPI score of 6.2.

Missouri is also expected to have one of the "most anticipated" games of 2025, based on ESPN's game quality analytics, taking both team's FPI scores into account. The Tigers' Week 7 game against Alabama is ranked at No. 23 in the top-25 best matchups for the season. This game will mark the first time Missouri hosts Alabama at Faurot Field since 2020.

The simulations projected an average of 4.6 teams from the Southeastern Conference to make the College Football Playoff. Missouri made the Playoff in 9.2 percent of the simulations.

Missouri's mantra of having 'something to prove' will ring especially true for this upcoming season. As the FPI rankings reflect, there's confidence the Tigers' defense will maintain its status as one of the best in the country. However, there's less certainty for their offense, which will feature new starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and three spots along the offensive line.

However, ESPN's analytics paint a more optimistic picture than most analysts for Missouri's 2025 season.

Here's a look at the initial top-25 FPI rankings from ESPN for 2025.

2025 ESPN FPI Team Rankings

Rank, Team, Win Conference %, Playoff %, Win National Championship %

No.1, Texas, 34.1%, 83.9%, 24.1%
No.2, Georgia, 26.9%, 78.6%, 17.9%
No.3, Alabama, 17.2%, 66.2%, 10.8%
No.4, Ohio State, 40.3%, 70.6%, 21.3%
No.5, Penn State, 25.1%, 63.8%, 14.4%
No.6, Oregon, 19.1%, 57.5%, 10.4%
No.7, Notre Dame, 0.0%, 45.6%, 7.3%
No.8, Texas A&M, 4.3%, 34.3%, 5.3%
No.9, Miami, 30.5%, 46.3%, 6.2%
No.10, Tennessee, 4.2%, 38.5%, 2.3%
No.11, Clemson, 34.0%, 47.3%, 6.8%
No.12, LSU, 3.5%, 30.3%, 4.9%
No.13, Ole Miss, 2.8%, 30.7%, 3.8%
No.14, Auburn, 1.8%, 21.8%, 2.5%
No.15, South Carolina, 1.8%, 20.3%, 2.6%
No.16, Oklahoma, 1.2%, 18.4%, 2.2%
No.17, Michigan, 6.0%, 25.3%, 2.6%
No.18, Florida, 1.0%, 14.5%, 1.6%
No.19, USC, 4.2%, 21.0%, 1.6%
No.20, SMU, 1.0%, 11.5%, 0.7%
No.21, Kansas State, 19.9%, 2.2%, 0.4%
No.22, Arkansas, 0.0%, 8.2%, 0.3%
No.23, Missouri, 0.1%, 6.2%, 0.3%
No.24, Arizona State, 13.0%, 16.1%, 0.2%
No.25, Nebraska, 1.6%, 8.3%, 0.1%