The top four of the College Football Playoff rankings remained the same on Tuesday night, with Alabama checking in at the No. 1 spot, Clemson at No. 2, Notre Dame at No. 3 and Michigan at No. 4.
U-M's arch rival, Ohio State, was placed in the No. 10 slot prior to this weekend's mammoth showdown with the Wolverines in Columbus. Even though both OSU and the UCF Golden Knights won this weekend, the latter jumped past the Buckeyes into the No. 9 spot.
Two other Big Ten teams also made an appearance in the top-25 — Penn State at No. 12 and Northwestern at No. 19.
The Westgate betting outlet released a hypothetical point spread if Michigan and Alabama were to play each other, and tabbed the Crimson Tide as a 13-point favorite.
ESPN Analysts Give Their Take
Joey Galloway: "Michigan didn't look great against Indiana, but they'll have a chance to erase that and make the same kind of statement [that Notre Dame made against Syracuse last weekend]. Right now, we have the best four teams in the top four."
Jesse Palmer on a potential Alabama/Michigan matchup: "I would love to see that Don Brown press man defense at the line of scrimmage against the likes of Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Irv Smith and DeVonta Smith against man to man coverage. And then [quarterback] Tua [Tagavailoa] would run around and still find guys open."
Kirk Herbstreit on U-M/OSU: "The big thing everyone realizes is how this is usually a line of scrimmage game, and the line of scrimmage has been favorable for Don Brown and Michigan, and a question mark for Ohio State. How OSU neutralizes that pass rush and gives [redshirt sophomore quarterback] Dwayne Haskins a chance will be key, because he'll see a ton of man to man. Will he have time to throw the football is the big question."
David Pollack on U-M/OSU: "[Defensive coordinator] Greg Schiano better come up with something on defense, because it's been bad. It's stuff they should know. They better get in the film room and be ready, because if not they're going to be embarrassed.
"Michigan has been the more energetic and pumped up team. Urban Meyer's situation has taken a toll, and they look like a team who has been beat up."
Galloway on U-M/OSU: "Ohio State is going to have to do something we haven't seen them do. We keep assuming they're a good team who just isn't playing well, but it's looking more and more like that's who they are. Nick Bosa is gone on defense, and there isn't another dominating player on this defense. This will be the first time in a long time Michigan walks into Ohio Stadium feeling like they're the better team and should win."
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