HawgBeat - Arkansas slides in ESPN FPI despite win at Florida
The Arkansas Razorbacks moved down one spot in the ESPN FPI following their win over Florida on Saturday.
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The Arkansas Razorbacks (3-6, 1-5 SEC) snapped a six-game losing streak when they defeated the Florida Gators (5-4, 3-3 SEC) 39-36 in overtime on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
Behind interim offensive coordinator Kenny Guiton, the Razorbacks put up a season-high 481 total yards of offense and three touchdowns in Gainesville, Florida.
Led by a 347 total yard performance from quarterback KJ Jefferson and a 103-yard rushing day from running back Rocket Sanders, Arkansas kept its postseason chances alive with the victory. In order to qualify for a bowl game, the Razorbacks have to win the remaining matchups on their schedule.
Defensively, the Hogs faltered a bit. A 36-point offensive performance from the Gators is the second-most that Arkansas has allowed this season behind the 38 points surrendered to the BYU Cougars in Week 3.
Following the win, the Hogs fell in the rankings in one of ESPN's top predictive metrics for college football.
After dropping one spot to No. 34 following a 7-3 loss to Mississippi State in Week 8, the Razorbacks moved down one more spot to No. 35 off the back of the victory over Florida in ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) this week.
Head coach Sam Pittman’s squad now has a 5.0-7.0 projected win total with a 24% chance of obtaining six wins during the season.
After 10 weeks of football, Arkansas fell to No. 48 (59.5) in the country in efficiency rankings after being as high as No. 40 in Week 2, according to ESPN. This includes a 41.5 (No. 89) offensive rating.
The defensive rating moved up from 67.8 (No. 34) two weeks ago to 70.4 (No. 25) this week. The special teams unit saw a decrease in its rating, as it fell from 67.1 (No. 16) in Week 8 to 61.6 (No. 22) after the Florida game.
Compared to the rest of the SEC, the Razorbacks come in at No. 9 (No. 8 two weeks ago) in the FPI just above Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi State, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The Hogs look worse in the efficiency department, slotting in at No. 10 (No. 11 two weeks ago) in the SEC above South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
Following the crucial victory, Arkansas will go into a Week 11 matchup against the Auburn Tigers — a team that ranks No. 31 in the FPI and No. 31 in efficiency rating (67.8).
Arkansas and Auburn will face off on Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The game is set to kick off at 3:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on the SEC Network.
