As expected following Michigan’s convincing 27-9 loss to Ohio State, the College Football Selection committee gave the Wolverines a sizable bump down the rankings.
In order to even have a chance at making the playoffs, Michigan needed to beat the top-ranked Buckeyes, and even then, it wasn’t a guarantee. Now, sitting at 9-3 and moving down four spots from No. 15 to No. 19 in the CFP rankings, any hope to make the field is gone.
If the Wolverines were going to take down Ohio State, they needed almost everything to go perfect — and for a fleeting moment, it seemed like it might. They opened the game’s scoring with a field goal, and junior defensive back Jyaire Hill snagged an interception on the Buckeyes’ first drive.
From that moment, however, Ohio State handled business. Michigan still needed everything to go right, and almost nothing did. It struggled to get its ground game going, especially with sophomore running back Jordan Marshall limited due to injury. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood couldn’t get much of anything going through the air, either, tossing just 63 total passing yards in the game.
Everything combined, the Wolverines were outmatched on nearly every level, and they took their first loss to the Buckeyes since 2019.
Ohio State did plenty to retain its spot at No. 1, and Indiana stuck at No. 2. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers will take each other on in the Big Ten Championship Game this upcoming Saturday in what should be a duel for the top seed.
There’s a new No. 3 team in town, as Texas A&M slid down to No. 7 following its loss to Texas. Now, the new No. 3 spot is held by Georgia. Oregon is the final Big Ten team to join the Buckeyes and Hoosiers in the projected field, coming in at No. 5.
Here are the complete rankings from the penultimate reveal:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Georgia
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Notre Dame
- BYU
- Miami
- Texas
- Vanderbilt
- Utah
- USC
- Virginia
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Tulane
- Houston
- Georgia Tech
- Iowa
- North Texas
- James Madison
Who Will Michigan Play In Its Bowl Game?
With how the Big Ten shaped up, the Wolverines’ bowl game outlook is fairly clear. Behind USC, Michigan is the second-best team out of the conference that didn’t make the playoffs. Generally the best Big Ten team not in the playoffs would take on an SEC team in the Citrus Bowl, and the second-best remaining Big Ten team would be slotted into the ReliaQuest Bowl.
However, due to USC’s contractual ties to its former conference, the Pac-12, the Trojans will be considered for Pac-12 bowl game tie-ins, not the Big Ten ones.
Thus, the Wolverines are most likely headed to Orlando to play in the Citrus Bowl.
Typically, the second-highest ranked remaining SEC team gets the invite to the Citrus Bowl, and this year, it’s shaping up to be Texas. So, if things shake out as expected, the Wolverines and the Longhorns would square off on Dec. 31.
It would certainly be a tough matchup, but it would offer one more chance at redemption, 10 wins, and some momentum moving into the 2026 season.
