It’s a slimmer SEC slate in Week 8 with 5 teams on a bye. The other 9 SEC teams in 5 games: 4 conference contests and Arkansas hosting an FCS in-state foe.
Week 8’s action features multiple rivalry games, including “The Third Saturday in October,” as Alabama and Tennessee are ignoring the calendar this year. LSU-Ole Miss is another rivalry clash of intrigue as Lane Kiffin’s Rebels look to stay in the College Football Playoff hunt as a one-loss squad.
ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) predicts the outcome of each Week 7 game:
- Arkansas (99.8 percent chance to win) vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- Ole Miss (71 percent) vs. LSU
- Mississippi State (91.7 percent) vs. Vanderbilt
- Alabama (91.2 percent) vs. Tennessee
- Texas A&M (89.4 percent) vs. South Carolina
Here’s how ESPN defines the FPI:
FPI is a predictive rating system designed to measure team strength and project performance going forward. The ultimate goal of FPI is not to rank teams 1 through 128; rather, it is to correctly predict games and season outcomes. If Vegas ever published the power rankings it uses to set its lines, they would likely look quite a lot like FPI.
Saturday Down South reports and comments on the news around the Southeastern Conference as well as larger college football topics.
