Michigan Football: 3 overreactions from win over Indiana
By Nick Popio
3. Michigan should leapfrog Sparty and Cincinnati in the playoff rankings
There may be some truth to this statement, but for now, it’s still an overreaction. Michigan football disposed of Indiana as expected, while Michigan State lost to a dangerous Purdue team on the road and Cincinnati squeaked past Tulsa at home, the site of College Gameday, in a battle that they were heavy favorites.
Michigan State still owns the tiebreaker over Michigan, while Cincinnati owns one of the best victories of the season, at Notre Dame.
Fortunately, the Big Ten will settle itself out in the remaining weeks and whoever wins out will not be left out of the college football playoff by virtue of being the outright Big Ten champion, unless the West division winner somehow upsets the East division winner in the title game.
Michigan being ranked above Michigan State in the Coaches Poll is telling, and don't be surprised if the same happens in the College Football Playoff Rankings as well. Michigan isn't getting penalized heavily for losing a really weird game on the road by 4 points.
— Trevor Woods (@WoodsFootball) November 8, 2021
A telling sign would be the associated press and coaches polls where Cincinnati ranks the highest of the three followed by a split in both polls for Michigan and Michigan State.
Next. 5 things we learned in win over IU. dark
The Wolverines have the edge in the coaches poll, but Michigan State gets the nod in the AP poll. Normally the committee favors the head-to-head winner, so it’s likely that Michigan stays put in this week’s playoff rankings at seven.