ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jim Harbaugh and his players were right. Michigan’s not dead yet.
When the first set of College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, the Wolverines debuted just outside the top four, higher than their standing in both the Associated Press and coaches’ polls this week, at No. 7.
That means a sweep of the team’s remaining four games and some help elsewhere (think chaos in the Big Ten East) could grant Michigan its first-ever playoff berth.
For what it’s worth, the CFP selection committee appears to a favorable opinion of Michigan. Chair Gary Barta, the athletic director at Iowa, referred to the Wolverines as a “strong team” several times Tuesday night while fielding questions about the process. In fact, Michigan State’s 37-33 win over Michigan on Saturday appeared to have helped propel the Spartans into the No. 3 spot.
More: Michigan State No. 3, Michigan No. 7 in first College Football Playoff rankings
Those things bode well for Michigan and its CFP positioning during the final stretch of the season. But that doesn’t overshadow the obvious here: Harbaugh’s team will need to win all four of its remaining games and win the Big Ten’s East Division, a gauntlet that begins Saturday night against Indiana (7:30 p.m., FOX).
Helping matters, at least currently, are all the possibilities in the Big Ten’s East Division. Ohio State already has one loss (though it came outside conference play, to Oregon), while MSU still has to play Purdue, Maryland, the Buckeyes and Penn State. Michigan is a game back in the loss column in the standings, leaving little room for error here. Winning four straight is essential, while MSU will need to lose twice for the Wolverines to jump them in the standings.
This is all easier said than done, of course, and barring an Ohio State breakdown, would require the Wolverines to beat the Buckeyes on Nov. 27 in Ann Arbor.
More: Michigan-MSU the most-watched college football game of the season
So, the pathway is narrow for Michigan but not inconceivable. Its 7-1 record is viewed positively in the eye of the committee, and the loss to MSU isn’t the big stain some thought it might be. It was a close, competitive loss on the road against what the playoff committee considers to be an exceptional team led by a Heisman Trophy contender running back, Kenneth Walker III.
But as Harbaugh and his players are prone to saying, the march forward is a one-week-at-a-time exercise. One more trip up and Michigan will be unofficially eliminated, as no two-loss team has ever qualified for the playoff. The stronger MSU looks the more favorably that loss registers to the Spartans registers.
But Michigan is going to have to play its part here. Winning every game in front of them is necessary. Then you can watch the dominoes fall around you.
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November 03, 2021 at 07:00PM
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Michigan football’s playoff goal not dead yet - MLive.com
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