When it comes to the latest College Football Playoff rankings, even those who want to know more have The Game in mind.
On Tuesday night, committee chair Boo Corrigan met with the media on his weekly teleconference, and of the eight questions that he received, seven had to do either with Michigan, Ohio State or the combination of the two.
Right out of the gates, Corrigan was asked how they relate to one another, and while he did give extra credit to the Buckeyes for the Week 1 win over Notre Dame, he said the two teams appear to be of similar caliber.
“Two well-balanced teams, both in the top 10 offensively and defensively,” Corrigan said. “Ohio State does have the win over Notre Dame, which I believe at this point as a committee, as we talk about it, that stands out a little bit to us as we’re going through this.
“But again, two really good teams that play really hard. Both had good wins this past week over Indiana and Nebraska. There’s a reason one is 2 and one is 3 in how close they are.”
It’s a difficult proposition for the committee, he said, trying to rank one above the other. Of course, the nonconference schedule continues to be a negative for the Wolverines, but it’s not the only determining factor that has Michigan at No. 3 rather than No. 2.
“We don’t believe there’s anything simple about it,” Corrigan said. “We’re going to go through each week with a clean sheet, look at every team, continue to evaluate, continue to compare, statistically continue to compare their schedules.
“But all that being said, the strength of schedule is different as we look at it. But again, we’re looking at so many different factors as opposed to just one. From a protocol standpoint we want to make sure we get it right, and that’s why we landed where we did this week.”
This was the third teleconference thus far, and usually, the question is how Michigan compares to other teams. But, in general, what does the committee see in the team in Ann Arbor?
Corrigan notes the run offense, the totality of the defense, as well as the Heisman Trophy candidate Michigan has in the backfield.
“Win over Penn State, top-10 defense, giving up just 11 points a game, balanced, Blake Corum and the job he’s done this season,” Corrigan said. “Again, defensively they’re really solid, and feel good that they’re a solid No. 3 team.”
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