Michigan Stays Steady In Latest CFP Rankings

With another win under its belt — no matter how it went down — the Michigan football team is still very much in the playoff hunt, and its position in the latest CFP rankings confirm that notion.

Staying put, Michigan remains at No. 18 with two games remaining in the regular season.

Against Northwestern Saturday, though, the Wolverines had yet another scare. The Wildcats, who are a very solid team in their own right, took Michigan all the way until the final seconds. As time expired, senior kicker Dominic Zvada put his season-long struggles behind him and knocked through a 31-yard field goal to give the Wolverines the win.

A look at the box score might be confusing for those who didn’t watch the game. At a surface level glance, Michigan was dominant when it came to yards gained: The Wolverines had 496 yards of total offense compared to Northwestern’s 245. But a deeper inspection reveals Michigan’s five total turnovers, which kept the Wildcats in the game.

Turnovers haven’t been a major problem for the Wolverines for much of this season, but they’ve come back to bite in recent weeks. Two red zone turnovers against Purdue Nov. 1 kept the Boilermakers in the game for longer than they maybe should have been, and the five turnovers against Northwestern almost cost Michigan its playoff chances.

For now, though, the Wolverines remain alive, and so do five other Big Ten teams. Ohio State and Indiana maintain their positions as the top two teams in the country, respectively, and Oregon also remains in the projected field at No. 7. Illinois comes in at No. 21, and USC at No. 15, to round out the Big Ten appearances. 

Here are the complete CFP rankings from the third reveal:

The most important thing the Wolverines can do, as always, is win. But it’s no secret that the committee values the ‘eye test,’ meaning it’s not just about whether they win, but also the manner in which the win occurs.

This upcoming Saturday, Michigan takes on a struggling Maryland squad. But while the Terrapins are 1-6 in the conference, they aren’t a pushover. They have a middle-of-the-pack offense in the Big Ten, and can be explosive at times.

Where Maryland struggles, however, is on the defensive end, allowing 392.9 yards per game, good for the third-worst mark in the conference.

If Michigan can hold the Terrapins offense in check while exploiting their shoddy defense, the Wolverines might be in line for a blowout opportunity. Heading into The Game against Ohio State, it could provide a much-needed confidence boost, as well as a rankings boost in the eyes of the committee.

While a big win would be ideal for Michigan, as long as it heads into the final week sitting at 9-2, a playoff berth is certainly still on the table.