Michigan rose three spots to No. 2 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night as the program bids for its first appearance in the playoff.
The Wolverines (11-1) earned a vital 42-27 win over Ohio State, which fell five spots to No. 7 this week. It was Michigan’s first win over its archrival in the era of the Big Ten Championship Game.
Now the Wolverines are in position to make the playoff field provided they beat Iowa in Saturday’s Big Ten title fight.
SEC’s Power Pair
Georgia remained No. 1, Alabama stayed at No. 3 despite struggling to put away Auburn in a four-overtime Iron Bowl and Cincinnati held at No. 4.
Oklahoma State rose two spots to No. 5 by beating rival Oklahoma 37-33. The Cowboys will face Baylor in the Big 12 Championship Game with a shot at finishing as a 12-1 conference champion, providing a good argument for its playoff hopes.
Oklahoma State leapfrogged No. 6 Notre Dame, which stayed pat as it deals with the aftermath of coach Brian Kelly leaving the school this week to accept the same job at LSU.
Behind Ohio State, Ole Miss passed Baylor for No. 8, the Bears are No. 9 and Oregon rounds out the top 10.
No. 23 Kentucky (8-4) and No. 24 Louisiana (11-1) entered the rankings. Wisconsin fell all the way from No. 14 to out of the rankings entirely following its loss to Minnesota. UTSA dropped out of the Top 25, as well, after its first loss of the season to North Texas.
Top 25
- 1. Georgia
- 2. Michigan
- 3. Alabama
- 4. Cincinnati
- 5. Oklahoma State
- 6. Notre Dame
- 7. Ohio State
- 8. Ole Miss
- 9. Baylor
- 10. Oregon
- 11. Michigan State
- 12. BYU
- 13. Iowa
- 14. Oklahoma
- 15. Pitt
- 16. Wake Forest
- 17. Utah
- 18. North Carolina State
- 19. San Diego State
- 20. Clemson
- 21. Houston
- 22. Arkansas
- 23. Kentucky
- 24. Louisiana
- 25. Texas A&M
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
