Ohio
Michigan falls off the College Football Playoff bubble after Ohio State loss
Michigan football’s shot at a playoff bid is virtually over.
The Wolverines fell four spots to No. 19 in the penultimate rankings from the College Football Playoff selection committee on Tuesday, three days after losing, 27-9, to No. 1 Ohio State.
A win over the Buckeyes and Michigan would have had a case to make the 12-team field. Sherrone Moore’s team, now 9-3, was ranked 15th last week.
Michigan will not play another game before the final CFP rankings are unveiled on Sunday, making it nearly impossible to reach the playoff this year. The Wolverines fell to 18th this week in the Associated Press Top 25 and US LBM coaches’ polls.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes held on to the No. 1 spot this week, followed by Indiana at No. 2. Georgia jumped up to No. 3 after Texas A&M lost to Texas.
Also moving up one spot this week is Texas Tech (No. 4), Oregon (No. 5) and Ole Miss (No. 6). A&M fell to 7.
There was also some movement at the bottom of the top 10, where Alabama rose one spot to No. 9. Notre Dame fell to No. 10.
On the bubble, BYU is holding serve at No. 11 with Miami at No. 12.
A fifth Big Ten team, Southern Cal, was also ranked this week at No. 16. But like the Wolverines, USC is 9-3 and without another game to play.
This weekend is championship weekend, a pivotal stretch of games to determine the five automatic qualifiers. Under the 12-team format, the five highest-ranked conference champions will be admitted, with the seven highest-ranked teams next in line.
The top four ranked teams, regardless of league champion status, will receive first-round byes.
As for the postseason, Michigan is projected to play in the Dec. 31 Citrus Bowl, the Big Ten’s highest-profile, non-playoff game.
This week’s College Football Playoff rankings:
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Georgia
- Texas Tech
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Alabama
- Notre Dame
- BYU
- Miami (Fla.)
- Texas
- Vanderbilt
- Utah
- Southern California
- Virginia
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Tulane
- Houston
- Georgia Tech
- Iowa
- North Texas
- James Madison