CBS Sports lists Michigan in the likeliest Big Ten title game predictions

With the Big Ten expanding to 18 teams this season with USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon joining the conference, Michigan's path to four consecutive Big Ten titles has gotten a lot rockier.

However, there appears to be some level of confidence that the Wolverines can get back to Indianapolis despite losing the bulk of the production from those championship-winning seasons.

According to CBS Sports, the Wolverines have received multiple predictions regarding the most likely championship game predictions, including one prediction that would have fans intrigued.

Below is what the outlet has prediction.

Reaching the Big Ten title game for a fourth consecutive season would be quite a statement for Michigan in the wake of losing coach Jim Harbaugh and 13 NFL Draft picks from last year's national title team. In this specific scenario, it would also likely mean a fourth-consecutive win against Ohio State. That comes comes with its own set of "what ifs" and hypothetical drama, especially because a title game appearance by Oregon likely means both teams here would have defeated the Buckeyes on their path to Indianapolis. Coach Dan Lanning and the Ducks have the roster to make a thunderous entrance to the Big Ten in 2024; what better way to do it than make the title game and square off against the reigning champs?

One common thread in our first two hypothetical matchups is the need to beat Ohio State to make the Big Ten title game. The reason those scenarios are No. 4 and No. 5, and not inside the top three, is that it seems unlikely Ohio State will lose every game against another conference title contenders. Will the Buckeyes take a loss in a schedule that includes Oregon, Penn State and Michigan? It's possible, if not probable, they'll get tripped up somewhere along the way. But losing all three of those appears out of the question, so now we're looking at different ways to get rematches of regular-season games involving the Buckeyes.

First up is "The Game, Part 2": a scenario in which both Ohio State and Michigan enter their rivalry game undefeated in conference play and clear of the rest of the teams in the standings. That may seem crazy given the depth of the conference, but Ohio State and Michigan have entered their rivalry game with undefeated conference records in each of the last two seasons, and over the last three years, they have just one loss combined to a team outside of the rivalry (Michigan at Michigan State in 2021). If the Big Ten had already picked its title game participants based on winning percentage, an Ohio State-Michigan rematch would have been the matchup in each of the last three years.

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