Michigan football: How the Wolverines make the College Football Playoff
Michigan football controls its destiny to make the College Football Playoff for the first time but a big challenge stands in their way.
If Michigan is going to make the College Football Playoff, the Wolverines will have to do something they haven’t done since 2011.
For Michigan football to make the four-team playoff, they’ll have to beat rival Ohio State for the first time in a decade. The Wolverines have lost eight straight to the team they want to beat more than anyone.
No. 6 Michigan has the best chance to end that streak since the 2016 game that went to double overtime and ended in a controversial fashion.
Michigan football path to the College Football Playoff
The direct path to making the playoff is to beat Maryland in College Station this weekend and beat Ohio State in the Big House on Nov. 27. That means Michigan is in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin or Iowa. A Big Ten championship guarantees a berth with only one loss. This is the simple path to the playoff, although it won’t be simple to break the losing streak vs. Ohio State.
Can Michigan make the playoff with 2 losses?
No. Michigan can’t afford a second loss and have a chance to make the playoff. If you wanna get nuts, if Michigan’s second loss is in the Big Ten Championship Game, they would have a win over Ohio State in their pocket, but without a conference title, they’d need absolute chaos to reign down over the sport the next three weeks.
Alabama, Oregon, Cincinnati, Notre Dame all need to lose at least once and the Big 12 needs to have a two-loss conference champion. If all that happens, then it’s a slight possibility Michigan can sneak in the back door.
But that’s the chaos scenario and not worth exploring.
For Michigan to make the College Football Playoff, they need to beat Maryland, Ohio State and win the Big Ten. Do all three and they’ll be one of the four teams in.
Next. Best college town in every state. dark
For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.