Michigan football 3rd in initial College Football Playoff rankings; Ohio State No. 1
Michigan football is ranked No. 3 in the initial 2023 College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday night.
The Wolverines (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) have beaten teams by an average margin of 34.8 points per game so far.
The ranking puts a cap on a tumultuous bye week filled with speculation about the NCAA investigation into Michigan for sign-stealing and Jim Harbaugh’s future contract in Ann Arbor.
Ohio State (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) is No. 1, followed by the defending national champions Georgia (8-0, 5-0 SEC). Florida State (8-0, 6-0 ACC) came in at No. 4 to round out the hypothetical playoff if the season ended today.
During the ranking reveal show, ESPN's Rece Davis asked Boo Corrigan, the chair of the College Football Playoff committee and the N.C. State athletic director, about the swirling investigations hovering over U-M and how the committee handled that in their rankings.
"Our job, as we look at it, is to rank the teams, to follow the protocols. And as we went through it, that really wasn't part of any of the discussions that occurred during our time together," Corrigan said.
"It's an NCAA issue, it's not a CFP issue," Corrigan continued. "At this point in time, as we look at it, we want to make sure we're get not just the top four teams right, but the top 25 teams right."
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The Wolverines have one of the toughest remaining schedules of any top team based on the playoff rankings because of the looming matchups with Ohio State and No. 9 Penn State (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten).
Georgia has three straight matchups with ranked opponents (No. 14 Missouri, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 19 Tennessee) but Florida State has no ranked opponents left and Ohio State only has the ranked matchup left with Michigan.
Undefeated Washington (8-0, 5-0 Pac 12) comes in at No. 5, followed by No. 6 Oregon (7-1, 4-1 Pac 12) and No. 7 Texas (7-1, 4-1 Big 12).
Rounding out the top 10 is No. 8 Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC), No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 10 Ole Miss (7-1, 4-1 SEC).
A season ago, Michigan was fifth in the initial college football poll after a similar 8-0 start to the season. The Wolverines climbed to No. 3 the following week due to losses from Clemson and Tennessee before jumping to No. 2 in the final poll after beating Ohio State, who fell from No. 2 to No. 4.
The season ended with another playoff disappointment against TCU, but Michigan is determined to reach the stage and complete the redemption arc. The Wolverines have outscored opponents 325-to-47 this year, including a 49-0 drubbing against rival Michigan State last outing.
The only thing holding Michigan back from the top overall ranking is the quality of opponents they've faced. None of the eight teams Michigan has played were ranked by the committee.
Through the first nine years of the CFP era, 21 of the 36 teams (58.3%) of the teams in the top four in the initial rankings ended up in the playoff. Last season, Michigan and TCU, who moved from No. 7 to No. 3, were the teams who made that jump.
There have been two times a team outside the top 10 (Ohio State, No. 16 in 2014 and Oregon, No. 15 in 2015) made the final four. Only once (2020) did the four teams who made the initial playoff rankings hold the final four spots and reach the playoff.
College Football Playoff top 25
Ohio State (8-0)
Georgia (8-0)
Michigan (8-0)
Florida State (8-0)
Washington (8-0)
Oregon (7-1)
Texas (7-1)
Alabama (7-1)
Oklahoma (7-1)
Ole Miss (7-1)
Penn State (7-1)
Missouri (7-1)
Louisville (7-1)
LSU (6-2)
Notre Dame (7-2)
Oregon State (6-2)
Tennessee (6-2)
Utah (6-2)
UCLA (6-2)
USC (7-2)
Kansas (6-2)
Oklahoma State (6-2)
Kansas State (6-2)
Tulane (7-1)
Air Force (8-0)
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football ranked 3rd in College Football Playoff standings
