Michigan docked in first CFP rankings by ‘weak’ non-conference schedule
Weak #Weak
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — As it turns out, the weak non-conference schedule Michigan assembled for the 2022 season isn’t helping its case nationally.
At least, not right now.
The 8-0 Wolverines debuted at No. 5 in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season, a spot below their standing in the latest AP Top 25 and coaches’ polls, and their strength of schedule is a big reason why.
“We like Michigan a lot as a committee — more workmanlike, controlling their opponent,” CFP chair Boo Corrigan, also the athletic director at North Carolina State University, told reporters Tuesday night. “But again, I think there’s a weaker non-conference schedule that was talked about before, and that was part of the determination.”
Michigan hosted Colorado State, Hawaii and Connecticut to start the season, a ragtag collection of opponents considered some of the worst in college football this year. None of them have winning records, and together they’ve combined to go 8-18.
More: U-M football still No. 4 in AP poll, and there’s a tie at No. 2
Ironically, the Wolverines canceled a planned home-and-home series with UCLA that was set to begin this year, a game that would have certainly provided a boost to Michigan’s resume. Instead, they replaced it with Hawaii, who is 2-7 and near the bottom of the standings in the Mountain West.
Meanwhile, in Big Ten play, the Wolverines have just two wins over teams with above-.500 records (Maryland, Penn State), with the 41-17 victory over No. 15-ranked Penn State treated as a “signature victory.”
Compare that to Clemson, a team the CFP committee ranked ahead of Michigan at No. 4, which has five wins against teams above .500.
“I think they’re right there,” Corrigan said. “In a larger picture, the signature win against Penn State, a well-balanced team, (was impressive). But at the end of it, when you look at the strength of schedule, it is something we do talk about as one of the principles that guides us. At this point in time, again, after Week 9, we felt they were right in the No. 5 position.”
Big Ten power rankings: Michigan, Ohio State are on a collision course
The other Big Ten team in the top 10 of the initial poll, Ohio State, also 8-0 with a victory over Penn State, was characterized as “explosive” on offense, with Corrigan citing the Buckeyes’ 49 points-per-game average and 32-point average margin of victory as the reason for the committee placing them at No. 2.
He said there was “extensive and very animated” debate over placing Ohio State and Georgia at the No. 1 spot, but the 13-person committee wound up choosing unbeaten Tennessee.
“The disparity is not that great,” Corrigan said of Ohio State and Michigan. “(Michigan has) done a great job controlling their games and mixing the run with the pass, really solid defense, good special teams. Again, as we’re looking at this with the margins in between, these are really good football teams, and it’s our job to come up with the ranking on where it is, and this week coming out of Week 9, we saw them as the No. 5 team.”
Corrigan said the 13- CFP committee will reconvene next Monday, after the upcoming weekend’s slate of games, and do it all over again. He insisted the committee tears up the previous week’s work and starts over with a blank slate, suggesting that teams like Michigan can overcome the perception of playing a weaker schedule.
“We’ll come back next Monday and be able to go through the process again and scrub and rescrub and debate and go through everything,” Corrigan said.
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