Michigan football ranked #2 in final CFP ranking; will play Georgia
By Jacob Cox
Michigan football and Jim Harbaugh have finally done it; they have won the Big Ten title and are headed to the College Football Playoff.
The final College Football Playoff rankings put the Wolverines at #2 behind #1 Alabama. Georiga is ranked #3, and Cincinnati is #4.
Alabama will play Cincinnati at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Michigan will play Georgia at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Both games will be on New Year’s Eve at 3:30 pm and 7:30 pm.
How Michigan football got to the College Football Playoff
The Wolverines have arguably played a playoff game every week since losing to Michigan State on Halloween weekend. They couldn’t lose again if they wanted to make the College Football Playoff.
Headed into ‘The Game,’ everything was on the line—a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game. Michigan dominated the Buckeyes in a 42-27 victory; Jim Harbaugh’s first over Ohio State has the head coach at Michigan.
On Saturday, despite some second-quarter struggles on offense, Michigan defeated Iowa 42-3 to win the Big Ten title, also Jim Harbaugh’s first as head coach.
All of this got Michigan to 12-1 and a spot in the College Football Playoff as one of the best four teams in the country.
A quick look at Michigan football’s next opponent
Georgia, who is also 12-1, suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday in the SEC Championship game to Alabama, 41-24.
Georgia was in the College Football Playoff no matter what happened on Saturday, but what transpired in Atlanta was very eye-opening.
The Bulldogs have relied heavily on their defense doing all the work this season, and for 12 games, it did. But on Saturday, the defense couldn’t hold the Crimson Tide. Alabama had 536 yards of total offense, while Georiga had 449.
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Michigan is going to have their hands full against the Bulldogs, though. The Wolverine’s identity all season has been running the football. Even in the Bulldogs’ worst defensive performance of the season, they only gave up 115 rushing yards to Alabama.