XPost: or.politics, talk.politics.guns   
   From: quack@quack.com   
      
   Heading into the 2024 college football season, there may not have been a   
   team that generated more buzz than the Oregon Ducks.   
      
   For what feels like the first time ever, an Oregon head coach didn't chase   
   after a bigger job following a huge year. Dan Lanning remained in Eugene   
   despite being viewed as a candidate for both Alabama and Texas A&M. On top   
   of that, he also built what many people felt was a championship-caliber   
   roster capable of being a threat to No. 1 Georgia.   
      
   On Saturday, August 31, in their opening game of the season, the Ducks   
   narrowly escaped an Idaho team that preseason rankings didn't even have as   
   the best team in the Big Sky. The Ducks walked away with a 24-14 win, a   
   bruised ego and also ended up free-falling in ESPN's latest Football Power   
   Index (FPI) rankings.   
      
   They started the season as the No. 2 team in the country, but after   
   Saturday's lackluster showing fell to No. 10. On top of that, ESPN's FPI   
   initially gave the Ducks nearly a 13% chance of winning the title, which   
   has since fallen to a 1.4% chance.   
      
   For those unfamiliar, the FPI measures a team's strengths and is used to   
   predict how good they will be throughout the year.   
      
   In terms of winning the Big Ten, ESPN's FPI now views both Penn State   
   (35.8%) and Ohio State (35.9%) as having a better chance at winning the   
   conference. The Ducks saw their chances of winning their new conference go   
   from 37.5% to just 9.9%.   
      
   Luckily for Oregon, one game doesn't define their season. They will have a   
   chance to make somewhat of a statement in Week 2 as they welcome Boise   
   State to town. A team that many expect to be the Group of Five   
   representative in the College Football Playoff, and one that the FPI ranks   
   as the best non-Power 4 team at No. 38.   
      
   https://athlonsports.com/college-football/powerhouse-program-plummets-in-   
   espn-fpi-college-football-rankings   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)