Michigan Wolverines Football: U-M Projected To Be In Playoff
Ahead of the second unveiling of the College Football Playoff rankings, there is a nearly unanimous consensus among college football analysts that Michigan will move up to No. 4 in the ranking.
Most analysts have Michigan facing Alabama in the Cotton. Here’s what they are saying about Michigan’s playoff chances.
- Stewart Mandel of the Athletic has Michigan facing Alabama in the College Football Playoff.
- Erik Smith of USA Today has Michigan in the College Football Playoff.
“ The result is Michigan, which has strung together three consecutive impressive wins, is the class of the conference and looks to be on track for the College Football Playoff,” Smith wrote. “All that likely stands in the way is a win in Columbus on Nov. 24.”
“The Wolverines join Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame in the projected field this week. The Buckeyes drop to the Rose Bowl.”
- ESPN has Michigan in the College Football Playoff, but Kyle Bonagura and Mitch Sherman on where the Wolverines will be slotted. Bonagura has Michigan facing Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, while Sherman has Michigan facing Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
- Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has Michigan in the College Football Playoff, facing off with Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
- Bill Bender of Sporting News has Michigan in the College Football Playoff.
“Michigan remains the best one-loss team on the board, and the Wolverines are penciled in to face Alabama in the Cotton Bowl Classic — for now,” Bender wrote.”
- Jason Kirk of SBNation.com has Michigan in the Playoff as the three-seed ahead of Notre Dame. Kirk has the Wolverines facing Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
“And I’ll keep Michigan in here yet again, though I’m hearing fewer and fewer complaints from Ohio State fans by the week, for some reason,” Kirk said.
“This brings us back to a familiar question: why predict Michigan will rank ahead of Notre Dame in December, considering the Irish won in September?”
“Well, the committee doesn’t use head to head as the only deciding factor between two teams. It lists it as one of several criteria it uses if it thinks teams are otherwise equal. I think on the year as a whole, Michigan’s already been a better team than Notre Dame has. Plus, looking forward: 13th game, conference title, and so forth.”
- Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report has Michigan in the College Football Playoff and has the Wolverines facing Alabama in the Cotton Bowl.
“Notre Dame and Michigan are next in line for the playoff, and if they pass the handful of tests left on their respective schedules, they'll slot into the final two positions,” Tansey wrote.
- Eric Single of Sports Illustrated has Michigan projected to go to the Cotton Bowl and face Alabama in Dallas.
“Having passed their final test before the season finale at Ohio State, the Wolverines deserve to slip into the coveted No. 4 spot in these unofficial rankings for now,” Single wrote.
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