Boo Corrigan explains why Michigan, Ohio State are ranked ahead of Washington despite number of ranked wins

As has been the case in each of the first four College Football Playoff rankings, Michigan and Ohio State came in ahead of Washington. This time, though, the Huskies entered the top four as Florida State dropped to No. 5.

The question, though, comes with each team’s resume. Washington has four straight ranked victories, including last week’s win over then-No. 11 Oregon State, and five total on the year counting the win over now-No. 6 Oregon last month. For comparison, Michigan has only played one ranked team and Ohio State has played two ranked opponents. Of course, they’ll both square off this week in The Game, which will be a top-three matchup once again.

But as CFP committee chairman Boo Corrigan says, the rankings aren’t about projecting the future. As it stands now, Washington has played more ranked teams than Michigan and Ohio State combined. The difference, according to Corrigan, comes down to the fact that the Huskies had some close games against unranked opponents.

“I think they’re both really good teams offensively and defensively,” Corrigan said of Michigan and Ohio State on a post-reveal show teleconference. “To your point, I think the committee in looking at Washington, there were a couple of weeks with Arizona State in the Stanford game where we wanted to see a little bit more from Washington, and as I alluded to earlier, they’ve had six consecutive quarters and given up a total of 20 points, including against Oregon State that averages 36 points.

“I think it all plays in together, and from watching games to statistics to schedule to everything, and we’ve got one more week of data points.”

Inside the numbers: A look at Ohio State, Michigan, Washington’s stats this season

Michigan and Ohio State are both among the nation’s top-ranked defenses. The Wolverines have the nation’s No. 1-ranked total defense, holding teams to 234.8 yards per game, while the Buckeyes sit at No. 3 with 252.8 yards allowed per contest. For comparison, Washington allows 401.5 yards per game.

On the offensive side of the ball, though, Washington is among the country’s top units, averaging 482.8 yards and 39.3 points to rank in the top 10 in both categories. Ohio State ranks No. 35 in total offense with 429.3 yards per game while Michigan is at No. 55 with 399.6 yards of offense on average. From a scoring perspective, Michigan averages 38.3 points — just outside the top 10 — and Ohio State sits at 33.6 points per game.

All three teams have the same record, though. Of course, that’ll change this week when Michigan and Ohio State square off in The Game in a game that will have nation-wide implications.