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College Football Playoff committee chair Boo Corrigan discusses placing Ohio State ahead of Michigan

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•11/09/22•

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Michigan Ohio State football
Safety Rod Moore led Michigan Wolverines football in tackles during a 42-27 destruction of Ohio State in 2021. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)

Michigan Wolverines football made the leap from No. 5 to No. 3 in the updated College Football Playoff rankings following Week 10. The Maize and Blue are behind No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State, which they play to conclude the regular season Nov. 26.

Ohio State was considered for the No. 1 spot, committee chair Boo Corrigan said in a teleconference after the release, but Georgia was deserving of top rank.

“I think there was consideration given to everyone, but I think as we got more into it, the decisive win by Georgia over Tennessee was the primary reason,” Corrigan explained. “Again, you’re looking at Ohio State and the balanced offensive scoring, scoring defense, scoring offense both being in the top 10, averaging 47 points a game. Really good team. But we felt that Georgia separated.”

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That left Ohio State and Michigan. The Wolverines have been arguably more impressive during Big Ten play, beating Penn State by 24 points while Ohio State had to pull away in the fourth quarter being one example.

“We put them up and we talked about each team individually,” Corrigan said of Michigan and Ohio Stae. “We talk about them in groupings to make sure that we’ve got it in the right area or in the right spot as we go through this.

“The win over Rutgers this weekend and the second half in particular and the way they’ve played, they’ve done a really good job of pulling away from teams.

“As you look at Ohio State, obviously they both have the win over Penn State but Ohio State has that win over Notre Dame. Both have top-10 scoring offenses, top-10 scoring defenses, and we’re going to continue to evaluate it as we move forward.”

Ohio State’s 21-10 win over now-No. 20 Notre Dame was likely the deciding factor between the Wolverines and Buckeyes. Michigan’s non-conference schedule was weak, with all three opponents residing from Group of Five conferences.

“If anything, that non-conference schedule from Michigan has been a factor,” Corrigan admitted.

Corrigan was asked for clarification on Michigan and if its placement was more about its body of work or what others around it have done.

“Well, I think it’s a combination of both is what it is,” Corrigan rambled. “It’s not one particular thing. You can’t just look at a team without any comparable information with the people that are around them.

“Again, really, really good football team, really talented football team, has done a good job on both sides of the ball. But as we looked at it and as we evaluated it, we had Michigan 3, Ohio State 2 and Georgia 1.”

Week 11 CFP Rankings: Michigan moves up to No. 3

1. Georgia (9-0)

2. Ohio State (9-0)

3. Michigan (9-0)

4. TCU (9-0)

5. Tennessee (8-1)

6. Oregon (8-1)

7. LSU (7-2)

8. USC (8-1)

9. Alabama (7-2)

10. Clemson (8-1)

11. Ole Miss (8-1)

12. UCLA (8-1)

13. Utah (7-2)

14. Penn State (7-2)

15. North Carolina (8-1)

16. NC State (7-2)

17. Tulane (8-1)

18. Texas (6-3)

29. Kansas State (6-3)

20. Notre Dame (6-3)

21. Illinois (7-2)

22. UCF (7-2)

23. Florida State (6-3)

24. Kentucky (6-3)

25. Washington (7-2)

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