After taking down Maryland over the weekend, the Michigan Wolverines are still No. 18 overall in the ESPN FPI rankings. Much like we had been forecasting, Michigan had to take care of some pesky Big Ten foes before putting all the chips in the middle of the table for The Game this Saturday.
Speaking of The Game, the ESPN FPI is giving Michigan a 21.8 percent chance of upsetting the Buckeyes. The FPI has given Michigan just a 0.9 percent chance of winning the conference, a 7.2 percent chance of making
the College Football Playoff, and minuscule odds of winning or even reaching the National Championship.
Obviously, this game is a must-win. If the Wolverines can extend their streak in this rivalry to five straight, perhaps it will be enough to sneak them into the the Big Ten Championship Game and CFP. If they lose, it has still been a mostly good regular season for an extremely young nucleus.
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, stay at No. 1, are a lock for the CFP and a near coin toss to make the title game, per the FPI’s metrics.
Will the upset happen? The FPI is not a huge optimist, but that’s why it’s not suiting up for Sherrone Moore’s team on Saturday.
