Michigan football remains at No. 3 in latest College Football Playoff ranking
There was no movement at the top in this week's College Football Playoff rankings as Michigan football stayed at No. 3 overall.
The Wolverines, who moved up to No. 3 a week ago after opening at No. 5 in the standings, held pat inside the top four following their comfortable 34-3 victory over Nebraska.
Georgia (10-0, 7-0 SEC) remained in the top spot after thumping Mississippi State, 45-19; Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) stayed steady at No. 2 on the heels of its 56-14 win over Indiana; and TCU (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) — after perhaps its most significant victory of the year, going to Austin and beating top-20 Texas, 17-10, to remain undefeated — rounds out the top four.
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Former No. 1 Tennessee (9-1, 5-1 SEC), which beat Missouri, 66-24, on Saturday, remains just outside the semifinal projection at No. 5, followed by new No. 6 LSU (8-2, 6-1 SEC), which clinched the SEC West title with a 13-10 win over Arkansas. USC (9-1, 7-1 Pac 12), Alabama (8-2, 5-2 SEC), Clemson (9-1, 7-0 ACC) and Utah (8-2, 6-1 Pac 12) finish the top 10.
This year's playoff is inching closer toward becoming the first in the CFP's history without Alabama or Clemson involved; the two have won five of the first eight national championships in the CFP era. The only significant mover this week was Oregon, which was knocked out of the title picture and fell from No. 6 to No. 12 after its 37-34 loss to Washington.
Michigan's destiny as far as the College Football Playoff is concerned seems relatively clear at this point — win and they're in. Should they lose to either Ohio State or in the Big Ten title game, they would likely be out, or at a minimum would need help from the other teams and hope there's chaos in other conferences as well.
U-M will host the nation's leading running back in Chase Brown and Illinois for its senior day Saturday.
The College Football Playoff committee’s Top 25
1. Georgia (10-0)
2. Ohio State (10-0)
3. Michigan (10-0)
4. TCU (10-0)
5. Tennessee (9-1)
6. LSU (8-2)
7. USC (9-1)
8. Alabama (8-2)
9. Clemson (9-1)
10. Utah (8-2)
11. Penn State (8-2)
12. Oregon (8-2)
13. North Carolina (9-1)
14. Ole Miss (8-2)
15. Kansas State (7-3)
16. UCLA (8-2)
17. Washington (8-2)
18. Notre Dame (7-3)
19. Florida State (7-3)
20. UCF (8-2)
21. Tulane 8-2
22. Oklahoma State (7-3)
23. Oregon State (7-3)
24. N.C. State (7-3)
25. Cincinnati (8-2)
Next up: Fighting Illini
Matchup: No. 3 Michigan (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) vs. Illinois (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten).
Kickoff: Noon, Saturday; Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor.
TV/radio: ABC; WXYT-FM (97.1), WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: Wolverines by 17.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football stays inside top four in new CFP ranking
