Michigan football bowl projections: CFP awaits if win over Ohio State materializes
The Michigan Wolverines are 11-0 and have all of their goals in front of them with Ohio State coming to town on Saturday in a battle of undefeated. The winner very likely punches their ticket to the College Football Playoff with a win, but U-M may have more to lose if it cannot find a way to emerge victorious this weekend.
However, the latest batch of bowl predictions still have them firmly in the playoff race. Here’s an updated look at the projections for the postseason destination from across the national media.
ESPN.com – Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach
In the latest bowl/CFP projections from Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach of ESPN, Michigan heads to the CFP’s Rose Bowl semifinal. Bonagura has Michigan playing Washington, while Schlabach predicts a matchup with Oregon.
“Unbeaten Michigan remains No. 2 after it took down Maryland 31-24 on the road,” Schlabach wrote. “It was the Wolverines’ second straight game playing without coach Jim Harbaugh, who was suspended by the Big Ten for the program’s sign-stealing scheme. Michigan gets rival Ohio State at the Big House on Saturday, and the winner will secure a spot against Iowa in the Dec. 2 Big Ten championship game. Harbaugh will also miss ‘The Game’ before returning for the postseason.”
CBS Sports – Jerry Palm
The CBS Sports projections have Michigan and Florida State playing in the Rose Bowl as the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, respectively. Georgia and Oregon would play in the Sugar Bowl with the winners of both games heading to Houston.
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As far as the other Big Ten Powers go, Ohio State would play Louisville in the Orange Bowl and Penn State would take on Missouri in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Athlon Sports – Steven Lassan
Athlon is another outlet that has a Michigan vs. Florida State matchup in the Rose Bowl with Georgia and Oregon on the other side of the bracket. Athlon also projects at Michigan vs. Georgia national title game in Houston.
Action Network – Brett McMurphy
McMurphy has Michigan playing Oregon in the Rose Bowl and has a line set at a half point in favor of the Wolverines. U-M would then advance to the national title game in Houston against Georgia (a 13-point favorite over Florida State in the Sugar Bowl), which Action Network currently has set as a 3-point game in favor of Georgia.
Bleacher Report – Joe Tansey
Bleacher Report’s Joe Tansey has a Michigan vs. Florida State matchup in the Sugar Bowl with Georgia taking on Oregon on the other side of the bracket. Michigan/Ohio State is essentially a playoff game, and he notes that.
Here’s what Tansey said about this weekend’s game:
Ohio State jumped Michigan by one spot in the latest AP Top 25, but that change does not mean anything except for the numbers next to both teams’ names on the scoreboard.
The Ohio State-Michigan winner will still have a wide-open pathway to the playoff as the Big Ten champion. The Buckeyes and Wolverines are both expected to beat the Iowa Hawkeyes next week.
Michigan did not have a great performance against the Maryland Terrapins in Week 12, but it has still been more consistent than Ohio State, who also faced some difficulties against the Terps before pulling away in the second half.
