We've spent the past five months discussing and predicting the 2016 state of Pac-12 football here on the blog, and we'll spend another three-plus months doing the same before the season kicks off. Now, the computers have had their first chance to do the same.
ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the computer's best predictor of a team's performance going forward. A statistical analysis combined with a look at strength of schedule is combined into a formula that creates 10,000 simulations. The result: A prediction of how many games each college football team will win next season.