Michigan Football: Week 5 rooting guide for Big Ten, Wolverines

Michigan football isn’t playing Saturday and no other Big Ten team is either, but here’s the rooting guide and what to watch for Wolverines fans.

Man, I wish Michigan football was playing this Saturday. There is simply nothing like watching the Wolverines on a Saturday morning or afternoon.

The sounds of the band, the winged helmets, it’s almost like heaven. But unfortunately, we have to wait three more weeks for that and even then, we may not have the band.

Regardless, we will have Michigan football as the Wolverines are set to open their 2020 schedule that day against Minnesota in a critical showdown.

Currently, the Wolverines are ranked 23rd in the AP poll, which I’ll admit, I find a bit curious. But it is what it is for now. For all intents and purposes, the only poll that matters in the College Football Playoff ranking and basically, if U-M or any other team in the Big Ten wins out, it will be fine.

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There is zero chance that any team from the Big Ten that goes undefeated and wins the conference title will be left out of the playoff. I just don’t see it happening. Mostly because Ohio State is likely to be that team.

However, if that team ended up being Penn State or Michigan or someone else, it would likely have a win over Ohio State to boost the resume. Yet, a one-loss Big Ten champion that isn’t Ohio State isn’t a guarantee. In fact, we’ve seen that a one-loss OSU team isn’t either.

So that’s where this rooting guide comes into play. In terms of rankings and bowl games and everything else, this season really will be the wild west, so winning as many games and being ranked as high as possible will have some merit.

With that in mind, here are some games to keep an eye on, because they are some of the best games on a busy slate and also, if you need a reason to root for or against someone, I got ya covered.

Hope for more Big 12 upsets

During the first window of the day, there’s an interesting matchup between No. 9 Texas and TCU. The Longhorns are fresh off an overtime win over Texas Tech and have the Oklahoma Sooners on tap next weekend. Could this be a trap game?

Probably not. But if Texas did lose, on top of Oklahoma going down last week, it would mean the Big 12 would likely be without an unbeaten conference champ. A one-loss Texas or Oklahoma, would have a solid argument, especially if the Sooners or Longhorns beat the other twice.

It always seems like the Big Ten and the Big 12 are competing against each other for one of the final playoff sports, since Clemson and the SEC champ are basically ensured a berth.

So these games could matter down the road. Another interesting game to monitor in the Big 12 will be Oklahoma and Iowa State. That one kicks off tonight at 7:30 EST and it’s in Ames, where the Hawkeyes have pulled some upsets over the years.

Oklahoma State is also 2-0 and ranked 17th right now. The Cowboys will play at Kansas and a loss there would eliminate another Big 12 team with a shot at the playoff. That’s a 3:30 EST kickoff.

Multiple SEC Showdowns — hope for chaos

There are two games of note Saturday in the SEC and they should both be exciting. First this afternoon (3:30 EST) Alabama hosts Texas A&M. The Tide are No. 2, while the Aggies are 13th.

Obviously, Alabama is the favorite and is expected to notch an impressive home win over the Aggies. But for the Big Ten and lots of teams hoping the SEC only gets one team, an Alabama loss always helps.

Then, either Alabama will make it as a one-loss SEC champion or not at all and that helps just about every conference outside the SEC.

After watching that, settle in for Georgia-Auburn in a top-7 showdown. Georgia struggled last week and there are questions at quarterback, while Auburn is looking to prove it belongs.

Imagine if Auburn wins and somehow Alabama went down, that would mean LSU, Georgia and Alabama would each have a loss after two weeks.

That probably won’t happen but it’s interesting to think about, because with seasons opening with conference play, we are immediately in the thick of the playoff race.

Upset hopes

There are always games to watch with the hope of a massive upset and there are a few that meet that expectation Saturday. South Carolina at Florida (12:00 EST) is one, along with top-ranked Clemson taking on Virginia tonight.

North Carolina is ranked and will try to stay unbeaten against Boston College (3:30 EST) and also, Mississippi State is back at it with Mike Leach (7:30 EST).

Next. 5 Bold predictions for Michigan in 2020. dark

That wait for Michigan football will be over soon, but hopefully, this will help you navigate another week without the Wolverines.

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