5 reasons Michigan makes the 2019 College Football Playoff

3. Questions about rest of Big Ten competition

As is the case most years in college football, there are a number of teams in the Big Ten that will be vying for a spot in the College Football Playoff outside of the Wolverines. The conference should have at least five teams well within the initial top 25 AP poll upon its release, and others could join that group as well. And while that could be bad news for this group from Ann Arbor on paper, it also doesn’t tell the full story.

When you look at the rest of the Big Ten, there are a ton of question marks about the other top-tier teams in the conference. Starting with the Ohio State Buckeyes, the questions aren’t so much about talent as they are about the off-field distractions. Given the current state of affairs regarding the program, there is a viable chance that, despite how loaded their roster is, that they could simply not maintain the focus needed to dominate the conference once again.

Continuing through the other top teams in the conference, Wisconsin could be the best team in the Big Ten, but Alex Hornibrook at quarterback is seemingly their Achilles heel. If they had just one player at any other position that was a concern, it might not be that big of an issue. But since we’re talking about the quarterback, that could truly come to haunt them in 2018. Meanwhile, both Penn State and Michigan State are talented, but might have a more limited ceiling than a team like the Wolverines.

That isn’t to say that Michigan doesn’t have questions of their own. However, what it does say is that they aren’t alone in that. And if Harbaugh and his staff are able to properly navigate through and around their possible issues, that could be enough to vault them to the top of the Big Ten.