Examining Michigan football's College Football Playoff ranking, path to the Top Four
Michigan football opens at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff’s first release of its rankings following the 10th week of the season.
The Maize and Blue are 7-1 overall, 4-1 in the Big Ten and are coming off a 37-33 road loss to No. 3 Michigan State in Week 9. The Spartans slotting third shows how much the committee thinks of the Maize and Blue, who have a signature win over No. 21 Wisconsin.
“They came back and beat a very good Michigan team,” committee chairman and Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said of MSU on the selection show.
The Wolverines are behind No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Cincinnati, and just ahead of No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 12 Baylor. They’re the fourth-highest ranked one-loss team, out of eight that made the top 25.
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Michigan’s Path To The Top Four
Despite dropping a game, Michigan still has College Football Playoff hopes, and for good reason.
If Michigan wins the rest of its games, it’s likely to get in. Upcoming games against Indiana and Maryland are likely to be wins, while playing at Penn State and against Ohio State will be tremendous challenges (Ohio State being much tougher). The latter two contests will be an outstanding opportunity to pick up more signature wins, with the Wolverines’ remaining schedule ranking 12th in the country, according to ESPN.com.
Oregon, for example, has the 38th-toughest remaining schedule, and Cincinnati has the 80th-hardest slate.
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The Wolverines will need some help to get into the College Football Playoff, though, with the one loss preventing them from controlling their own destiny.
Here are a couple main scenarios involving other teams that would aid the Maize and Blue’s chances and that fans should be rooting for:
• Michigan State losing two games the rest of the regular season. If Michigan wins the rest of its games and the Spartans drop two, the Wolverines would be in the Big Ten championship game, giving them another chance to bolster their resume. MSU plays at Purdue next week and is only a slight favorite, while it’ll also have to play at Ohio State and against Penn State.
• Georgia beating Alabama in the SEC championship game, effectively eliminating the Crimson Tide from playoff contention.
• The following teams dropping at least one more contest: Oregon, Cincinnati and Oklahoma.
Here is a look at the entire set of rankings.
Week 10 College Football Playoff Rankings
- Georgia (8-0)
- Alabama (7-1)
- Michigan State (8-0)
- Oregon (7-1)
- Ohio State (7-1)
- Cincinnati (8-0)
- Michigan (7-1)
- Oklahoma (9-0)
- Wake Forest (8-0)
- Notre Dame (7-1)
- Oklahoma State (7-1)
- Baylor (7-1)
- Auburn (6-2)
- Texas A&M (6-2)
- BYU (7-2)
- Ole Miss (6-2)
- Mississippi State (5-3)
- Kentucky (6-2)
- NC State (6-2)
- Minnesota (6-2)
- Wisconsin (5-3)
- Iowa (6-2)
- Fresno State (7-2)
- San Diego State (7-1)
- Pittsburgh (6-2)
