The Michigan Wolverines kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive on Saturday, knocking through a game-winning field goal by kicker Dominic Zvada against Northwestern. The win was not pretty, but
it kept all options on the table as Michigan heads into the final two weeks of the regular season.
The Wolverines are currently 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten, but as was the case the week before, it will need to win out to have a chance at the CFP. A third loss will ultimately send them down to a bowl game in Florida against an SEC opponent.
As a reminder, if Michigan does not ultimately make the CFP, the Big Ten bowl tie-ins are as follows:
- GameAbove Sports Bowl (vs. MAC)
- Rate Bowl (vs. Big 12)
- Pinstripe Bowl (vs. ACC)
- Music City Bowl (vs. SEC)
- ReliaQuest Bowl (vs. SEC)
- Citrus Bowl (vs. SEC)
- Las Vegas Bowl (vs. current/former Pac-12)
As we take a look at the bowl projections with two weeks to go, here’s where several outlets have the Wolverines headed following its thrilling win at Wrigley Field.
Sports Illustrated (Bryan Fischer): Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Texas
For a second straight week, Sports Illustrated picked Michigan to face off against Arch Manning and Texas in the Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 in Orlando. After a third loss, Texas is all but out of the CFP, and the Citrus Bowl should be a lock for the Longhorns. Of course, the Big Ten opponent is yet to be decided, but the whole country would be locked into this game on New Year’s Eve if Michigan winds up in this one.
ESPN (Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach): Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Vanderbilt
ESPN has gone away from picking two different bowl projections and making a consensus pick for Michigan to face Vanderbilt in this bowl game. The Commodores are coming off of a bye week, but barely squeezed by Auburn the week before. With an 8-2 overall record, Vanderbilt is all but out of the SEC championship conversation and would need a few things to happen to get into the CFP. It appears ESPN is betting that will not be the case.
On3 (Brett McMurphy) : Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Vanderbilt
On3 has also flipped its pick from Texas to Vanderbilt as Michigan’s opponent in the Citrus Bowl. As mentioned earlier, with Texas losing to Georgia this past weekend, the Longhorns fall below Vanderbilt in the SEC standings. If things continue to play out the way it stands right now, Vanderbilt very well could get this game while Texas goes to the ReliaQuest Bowl.
The Athletic (Scott Dochterman): Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Tennessee
Now this is getting interesting. As opposed to last week where there was a strong consensus that Michigan would play Texas, we have a third team added to the mix. The Volunteers are currently 7-3 with those losses all being in SEC play, meaning if they were to get the nod for the Citrus Bowl, every team in front of them would need to make the CFP. That is a tough outlook as of now with Texas losing last week.
CBS Sports (Jerry Palm): Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Texas
A second Texas pick evens the tally 2-2 with Vanderbilt, as CBSSports flips its pick from Oklahoma a week before. The SEC is still wide open with a ton of tough matchups in the next couple weeks, and national outlets are all over the place with their projections.
Athlon Sports (Steven Lassan): Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Texas
Another flip! This time, Athlon flipped its pick from Vanderbilt to Texas. At this point in the projections, no one thinks Michigan is going to beat Ohio State for a fifth straight year.
College Football News (Pete Fiutak): Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Tennessee
Rounding out this week’s projections is College Football News, as they put Michigan up against Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. Once again, the projections are ever-changing, and it is clear after this week’s roundup that no one has any idea how the final few weeks will unfold.
