CFP committee had no problem ranking Wolverines in top four: 'Cleary, Michigan has been a dominant team'
Michigan Wolverines football is currently under NCAA investigation for alleged illegal in-person scouting. In-person scouting of future opponents in the same season was outlawed by the organization in 1994 as a cost-cutting measure and provides “minimal competitive advantage,” according to the NCAA.
The College Football Playoff committee released its first rankings for the 2023 season and placed Michigan No. 3, behind No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Georgia. Florida State checked in No. 4 to round out the top four.
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Despite the outside noise regarding suspended low-level staffer Connor Stalions, the investigation is in its early stages, and Michigan has yet to even receive a notice of allegations. The Maize and Blue are 8-0 and have won every game by 24 points this season, and that’s all the committee cared about. CFP executive director Bill Hancock and committee chair Boo Corrigan made it clear that nothing is known about the Michigan situation and that it’s an NCAA issue, not a CFP matter.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel is on the committee but must step out of the room when U-M is discussed, as is protocol for any member from a school.
“It just wasn’t an issue,” Hancock said on a teleconference following the rankings release. “Warde brought credibility when he came to the committee, and he still had it and still has it, and and he was fully engaged today. It’s just not an issue here.”
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As such, the group had no problem ranking Michigan No. 3.
“Michigan has played well all season,” Hancock said. “The fact of the matter is no one knows what happened. We’re dealing right now — the NCAA is dealing right now with allegations only. The committee makes its judgments based on what happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team.
“You have to remember that these are allegations at this point and not facts, and so there’s no substantive evidence that anything happened that might have affected the game. All this committee does is evaluate what happens on the field during games. That’s why we are where we are.”
Michigan hasn’t played any ranked opponents, though it will take on No. 11 Penn State and No. 1 Ohio State next month. The strength of schedule has been a knock on the Wolverines all season, and it factored into their placement.
“It’s a factor in what we’re looking at. Again, when you can point to from a Georgia standpoint Florida and Kentucky, with Ohio State when you can point to Penn State, the win at Notre Dame, the win at Wisconsin, while UNLV, Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota are good wins, I think looking at it in total, even with the dominance offensively and defensively, defensively giving up about six points a game, it really turned the committee’s head from that standpoint, but that was the reason they came in at third,” Corrigan said.
Michigan takes on Purdue this weekend in Ann Arbor.
