Michigan football has a bye week this week, before opening a critical three-game stretch with a road game against Northwestern at Wrigley Field.
Wins over Northwestern, Maryland, and Ohio State are needed if Michigan football wants to make the College Football Playoff. A nine-win season won't do it. The Wolverines have to get 10 wins, which means two road wins, plus a win over the top-ranked Buckeyes.
So far, Ohio State has looked unbeatable. The defense has been the best in college football, while the offense, especially the passing game has been unstoppable.
Yet, first things first, Michigan has to make it to "The Game" with a 9-2 record. If that happens, Michigan football would also be 7-1 and a berth to the Big Ten championship could be on line, depending on how the tiebreakers work out.
Yet, after sluggish wins over Purdue and Michigan State have some fans wondering if the Wolverines can win the next two games, plus upset the Buckeyes.
It's not going to be easy, but here are three reasons to feel good about Michigan's chances of making the College Football Playoff.
The running game
It's a huge bummer that Justice Haynes probably won't play again for Michigan football this season. There is hope he returns for the Ohio State game, but it feels like a longshot.
Still, this Michigan running game is the best in the Big Ten. Jordan Marshall has emerged in recent weeks, posting 100-yard games in three straight outings, all Michigan wins.
Marshall rushed for 185 yards against Purdue, accounting for 210 total, as well as three touchdowns. If Bryce Underwood avoids the red-zone turnovers, Michigan wins the game going away.
Marshall is a huge reason why. The offensive line has been stellar, though. Despite starting three redshirt freshmen, the Wolverines have averaged 238 rushing yards per game in their last three, but have gone over 250 rushing yards two weeks in a row.
I know it was against Michigan State and Purdue, but that's encouraging. This same group rushed for 187 yards against Washington. The pass protection was a bit leaky. Both tackles are redshirt freshman, but Blake Frazier is getting better it seems with every snap.
The future of the offensive line is incredibly bright. But the group is also good enough right now to get Michigan football through the next two games, and if it can keep paving the way for Jordan Marshall to run the ball like he has, anything can happen against the Buckeyes.
Derrick Moore, the game wrecker
Looking back at the wins over Ohio State, there have been two huge reasons why the Wolverines have won four in a row against the Buckeyes.
The running game is the biggest reason. Michigan football has out-rushed Ohio State in the past four games and has won them all. The team that wins the rushing battle usually wins "The Game."
If that holds true, Michigan should feel good about its chances. There is another reason the Wolverines have had success against Ohio State's offense, which has been the pass rush.
Making Ohio State one-dimensional has been key. Michigan did that in 2024. It will need to do that again this season, then it needs to let Derrick Moore wreck the game.
Moore has done the past three weeks. He was incredible against Wasington, with two sacks in a must-win game over a team now ranked in the CFP Top 25. Moore had two sacks, then followed it up with two sacks against MSU and Purdue.
It might take an Aidan-Hutchinson-type performance from Moore for the Buckeyes to knock off the Wolverines, meaning three sacks. But after watching Moore get six sacks the past three weeks, it feels like that's a possibility.
This defensive line doesn't have Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. It does have Moore, though and Rayshaun Benny. That might be enough, especially if Moore has one of those games.
November brings out the best in Michigan football
Dating back to 2021, Michigan football is 15-2 in November games. The Wolverines lost the first two games of November in 2024.
However, in the loss to indiana, it felt like the defense figured something out. The running game got going against Northwestern, then the 6-5 Wolverines knocked off Ohio State.
If Michigan can beat the Buckeyes in Columbus with Davis Warren, it can beat Ohio State at home with Bryce Underwood. The freshman will need to play with poise. Hopefully, there is some growth coming out of the bye week, even though Purdue wasn't as bad as it looked.
It was bad. Don't get me wrong. Yet, if Bryce doesn't overthrow Jamar Browder on the first pass, if Marlin Klein fights back for the ball, if Underwood doesn't get the ball knocked out near the goal line, and if he avoids one bad decision on the interception, the entire game feels different.
That series of plays went all wrong. Is that going to continue after he didn't have a game like that all season? I find that hard to believe. He still has just three interceptions in nine starts. Purdue was the only multi-turnover game of the season.
We said all offseason, and throughout this season, that growing pains were going to happen. They have. Underwood has also shown an ability to learn and improve. The Washington game was just 2.5 weeks ago, when he torched a now-ranked team to the tune of 21-of-27 passing for 230 yards and two touchdowns, despite three clear drops.
Defenses have adjusted. Michigan will need to adjust in the bye week, but I would be stunned if we didn't see a better, more comfortable Underwood over the next three weeks.
It's entirely possible that he played his worst games of the season against Michigan State and Purdue. The Purdue game was close to being really good, though. Bryce had more poise in the second half, and his downfall is being exaggerated.
The dude who balled out against Washington didn't disappear. QB development, especially for an 18-year-old true freshman, isn't linear. Bryce Underwood is fine, and he'll prove that over the next three weeks.
That's not saying it will be perfect. But come the Ohio State game, Bryce will be ready to go and by Game 12, it will hardly feel like he's a freshman.
If he can avoid playing like one, Michigan football could realistically make it five in a row. Add that to the fact that the defense should get Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder back, maybe even Rod Moore, and the way that Ohio State seems to bring out the best in Michigan.
The Wolverines have played their best football against Ohio State in each of the past four years. Can Ohio State meet that challenge? It's a fair question because the Buckeyes were the more talented team last season, and we all know how that worked out.