Michigan ranks 2nd in latest College Football Playoff rankings; Michigan State 11th
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60 minutes, possibly more.
That's all that stands in the way of Michigan football and its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. The latest CFP rankings had the Wolverines ranked at No. 2, meaning that with a win against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Saturday night's Big Ten championship game (7 p.m., Fox), Jim Harbaugh's club will reach college football's final four.
For the Wolverines, it is truly "CFP or bust" now. Usually, the Big Ten champion would be headed to the Rose Bowl but with a Wolverines loss, Iowa would go to the Rose Bowl and Michigan would head to another New Year's Six game with thoughts of what could've been.
As for the rest of the latest CFP rankings, the Georgia Bulldogs maintained the top spot and the Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 3, along with the Cincinnati Bearcats round out to the top four.
The positioning of the Ohio State Buckeyes and Michigan State Spartans make for an intriguing discussion when it comes to the Rose Bowl. With a Michigan victory, the highest-ranked Big Ten team behind the Wolverines will be headed to Pasadena on New Year's Day to face the Pac-12 champion. According to most projections, a U-M appearance in the playoff could mean up to three Big Ten teams will be playing in NY6 bowls:
Michigan — CFP
Ohio State — Rose Bowl
Michigan State — NY6 at-large spot
Entering the final week of the season before bowl selections are announced Sunday, the drama sits in a few spots. Depending on the results of the SEC Championship game (Georgia vs. 'Bama), Cincinnati's AAC Championship game, the Big 12 Championship game, and the Big Ten championship game, Sunday's final rankings could look very different from Tuesday night.
Contact Andrew Hammond at aahammond@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @ahammFreePress. Check out some of the tremendous offers from the Detroit Free Press and subscribe today!
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan is No. 2 in latest College Football Playoff rankings
