Michigan football was left for dead, counted out after losing to Texas — the first non-rival to beat the Wolverines at home since 2015 (outside of the 2020 COVID year). But after beating USC, suddenly, the maize and blue have life anew.
But the road to the postseason is a tough one.
What was already a brutal schedule with Texas, USC, Washington, Oregon, and Ohio State on the docket became that much tougher with Illinois and Indiana suddenly looking like hard outs and with both games being on the road.
Still, Michigan is hanging close, named as one of ESPN’s first four out (subscription required) of the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Wolverines would have been No. 12 in the selection committee’s ranking on Selection Day, but they were bumped to make room for the fifth conference champion, which is Boise State in this scenario. In order for Michigan to move up to a safer spot, the Wolverines will need to generate more offense from their passing game. ESPN Analytics gives the Wolverines less than a 50% chance to beat Washington, Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State.
Michigan has a task that’s relatively similar to 2021, but it’s more difficult because of the schedule. However, the Wolverines have multiple players still expected to be first-round NFL draft selections (Colston Loveland, Mason Graham, Will Johnson, and Kenneth Grant) and another that’s playing like one (Josaiah Stewart). If those players play up to expectations and this new-look offense with Alex Orji at quarterback and Kalel Mullings leading the charge at running back finds some kind of rhythm, Michigan will be an equally tough out for every remaining team on the schedule.