The third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings was released on Tuesday night. For the second week in a row, Michigan football checked in at No. 18.
Breaking down the rankings, things look a little different after Oklahoma knocked off Alabama. The Sooners moved ahead of the Crimson Tide. If Oklahoma had dropped that game, they would have dropped out of a playoff spot.
It hurts Michigan football because the Wolverines would likely pass a three-loss Oklahoma team with a win over Ohio State, but if both teams have two losses, the Sooners still have the head-to-head advantage.
The committee chair Hunter Yurachek did offer some encouraging words about the Wolverines,
“We feel Michigan at 8-2 is a quality team,” Yurachek said via Wolverines Wire. “They've got two losses to two teams in our top 25. The loss earlier this year at No. 8 Oklahoma and a loss versus No. 15 Southern Cal. Quite honestly, that Southern Cal game and the Oklahoma game, we felt they were dominated in both of those games."
“They've got some good wins on their resumes as well, the victory against Nebraska and then against Washington, and of course the walk-off this past week against Northwestern. So Michigan is a very strong team in our pool at 8-2 and currently ranked 18th, and the committee has a great deal of respect for them.”
Michigan still has a path to the College Football Playoff
Some have tried to argue that Michigan football doesn't have a shot at the top 12. It's not going to be easy to climb seven or eight spots. As it stands, Miami is the highest-ranked ACC team at 13th. That means with a Group of Five champion, only the top 10 teams would make it.
Alabama holds the last spot currently. USC and Georgia Tech are ahead of Michigan, but they have to play Georgia and Oregon in the next two weeks. So there are chances to move up. Beating Ohio State is the most important thing, though.
If that happens, Michigan's resume will be much better. The two losses hurt and the fact that they were "dominated" isn't great.
That might be the difference between Michigan and Notre Dame in the eyes of the committee. Yet, if Michigan beats Ohio State, it will have the best win in college football. One of them at least.
Will that be enough to jump into the top 10? It's hard to say. A Washington upset over Oregon would sure help, but if Oregon beat USC and Washington beat Oregon, Michigan would head to the Big Ten championship game.
It's hard to say if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But Michigan needs Washington and Nebraska to keep winning. It also needs to win out, and hope for another upset along the way.
With three weeks left, though, Michigan's chances of making the College Football Playoff are far from dead.