A proposal exists that would expand the college football playoff from four teams to 12 teams. Perhaps the most interesting element of the proposal is first round home games between teams #5-12, increasing fan investment, creating a true home-field advantage, and moving games away from sterile NFL stadiums hundreds or thousands of miles from campus. For Michigan’s coaches and players, that proposal might as well be reality.
When Michigan takes the field against Ohio State on Saturday it will be competing for a berth in the Big Ten title game, and Saturday’s winner will be all but assured a spot in the current four-team model of the playoff. As Michigan head Coach Jim Harbaugh said, "The winner gets to keep playing and the loser does not."
Harbaugh went into greater depth capturing Michigan's moment. "Both teams have a lot on the line. It's a true playoff in that sense," he said. "In a College Football Playoff world, this is the start of the playoffs. The team that wins will advance. The team that doesn't won't. So it is that, and it's also a big game, The Game, the rivalry."
The magnitude of Saturday's game isn't lost on Michigan's players. "It means everything. Not only are we playing our rival, we play in this big game, but it's a playoff game and there's a lot on the line and we know that," linebacker Josh Ross said. "It just comes down to how we prepare this week and how we prepare on the day-to-day and how we approach and attack it leading to Saturday. That's what wins games."
The team's focus has kept it in position to play for its goals, and that focus has included more thorough preparation this season. Michigan's more seasoned players have emphasized to younger players the way that every small thing builds to something larger. Center Andrew Vastardis, who has been with the program since 2016, explained his approach.
"In the past it's just been unacceptable; the outcomes have been unacceptable, I mean. It's just letting (younger players) them know, hey, every day you're here throughout the whole season, every technique you try to improve, every film study you try to get better at, everything's just to get ready to improve to play this game and play these types of games, these playoff-type games."
And, unlike 2016 and 2018, Michigan gets to play this year's win-or-you're-out version of The Game at home. That provides Michigan with one of, it not the only, advantage outside the team's control. "We're very excited to play this game at home," Vastardis said. "The past two years have felt way longer than two years. It's huge. We're really excited for Michigan to show up this weekend."
No matter the year, the most Michigan can ask for before the Ohio State game is an opportunity to play the Buckeyes on the final Saturday in November with everything on the line. In five days, that wish is granted. Michigan fans will pack the stands of one of college football‘s iconic venues from the edge of the brick wall to the top of the bowl, and the Maize and Blue will play the Scarlet and Gray for a chance at a Big Ten tittle and more. As Jim Harbaugh said after last Saturday's game, "That’s the position we wanted to be in and we want to finish it. We want to win all the marbles. So, we’re in the position we want to be in. We’ve been preparing for this really the entire year, and now bring that preparation to life this week, to play for it all."
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