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Michigan football on outside looking in for first CFP rankings, prepares for Rutgers

colin gay, the columbus dispatch
·3 min read
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Michigan football has done everything right in 2022.

The Wolverines have won each of their first eight games of the season, coming in tied with Ohio State at the top of the Big Ten East.

But coming into November, Michigan remains on the outside looking in with the College Football Playoff.

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Despite coming in as the No. 4 team in the country according to both the Associated Press and USA Today AFCA Coaches polls, the Wolverines sit behind Clemson in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday.

North Carolina State athletic director and CFP chair Boo Corrigan said the disparity between Michigan and Ohio State in the rankings is "not that great."

"We like Michigan a lot as a committee," he said. "(The Wolverines are) more workmanlike controlling their opponent. But again, I think there's a weaker non-conference schedule, and that was part of the determination."

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According to ESPN, Michigan has the fourth-best Football Power Index in college football at 22.5, measuring the expected point margin against an average opponent on a neutral field. However, with only one win against No. 15 Penn State, the Wolverines have the 80th-best strength of schedule in the country, per ESPN.

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Michigan's strength of schedule is not set to improve Saturday night.

The Wolverines will travel to Piscataway, New Jersey to take on Rutgers, which has lost four of its last five games, including a one-point home loss against Nebraska.

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After losing to Rutgers 26-24 in its first matchup in 2014, Michigan has won each of the last seven meetings with the Scarlet Knights. Each of the Wolverines' last two wins have been by seven points or less.

Michigan football's 2022 schedule

  • Sept. 3: Michigan 51, Colorado State 7

  • Sept. 10: Michigan 56, Hawaii 10

  • Sept. 17: Michigan 59, UConn 0

  • Sept. 24: Michigan 34, Maryland 27

  • Oct. 1: Michigan 27, Iowa 14

  • Oct. 8: Michigan 31, Indiana 10

  • Oct. 15: Michigan 41, Penn State 17

  • Oct. 29: Michigan 29, Michigan State 7

  • Nov. 5: Michigan vs. Rutgers, Piscataway, N.J.

  • Nov. 12: Michigan vs. Nebraska, Ann Arbor, Mich.

  • Nov. 19: Michigan vs. Illinois, Ann Arbor, Mich.

  • Nov. 26: Michigan vs. Ohio State, Columbus, Ohio, noon

College Football Playoff rankings: Week 1

  1. Tennessee (8-0)

  2. Ohio State (8-0)

  3. Georgia (8-0)

  4. Clemson (8-0)

  5. Michigan (8-0)

  6. Alabama (7-1)

  7. TCU (8-0)

  8. Oregon (7-1)

  9. USC (7-1)

  10. LSU (6-2)

  11. Ole Miss (8-1)

  12. UCLA (7-1)

  13. Kansas State (6-2)

  14. Utah (6-2)

  15. Penn State (6-2)

  16. Illinois (7-1)

  17. North Carolina (7-1)

  18. Oklahoma State (6-2)

  19. Tulane (7-1)

  20. Syracuse (6-2)

  21. Wake Forest (6-2)

  22. NC State (6-2)

  23. Oregon State (6-2)

  24. Texas (5-3)

  25. UCF (6-2)

Ohio State football's 2022 schedule

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Michigan football prepares for annual meeting with Rutgers