Three years ago it would’ve been unthinkable. Trudging through a 2-4 season with its final three games canceled amid a pandemic, the Michigan football team couldn’t dream of even touching a College Football Playoff rankings sheet — let alone imagine itself in the top four.
Now, it’s commonplace.
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Common enough that after two consecutive CFP appearances, the latest rankings placing Michigan at No. 3 is actually lower than what some expected — but players are remaining unfazed regardless. As they head down the stretch, the Wolverines are evidently uninterested in looking for greener pastures.
“For us? It doesn’t really matter in our case,” senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said Tuesday. “It doesn’t really change anything because our main focus is the last College Football Playoff rankings, if anything. It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be until then, but our goal is to finish strong.”
That’s not to say the Playoff doesn’t matter. Rather, it exists as the modern pinnacle of College Football. Every team wants to be there — including the Wolverines.
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The only difference though? After three years of sustained success, Michigan can say what few others can: it’s been there before. No longer does the CFP reside in the minds of the Wolverines as an unattained goal, as it may have just three years ago. Instead of hope, the Playoff and the Wolverines’ experience in it is now motivation.
“It does give us confidence, where we’ve been, where we’re trying to get back to,” Jenkins said. “Our main focus is, get back to where we want to be. Get back to where we’re trying to be, that’s our biggest goal.”
Sitting at 8-0, that goal feels inextricably close, yet unbearably far for Jenkins and Co. Even as Michigan’s program weathers a storm of allegations, investigations and twitter-finger fueled feuds, the Playoff Committee has seemingly made up its mind to this point. The Wolverines have the green light as a top four team, but they still have far to go.
Entering the meat of its schedule, Michigan’s chance to build its true playoff resume starts now. The Wolverines are two-thirds of the way through the season, and in some ways, it’s just beginning. Their strongest opponent through week eight has seemingly been Rutgers, ranked at No. 44 in ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI). Accused of playing a cupcake schedule of sorts, Michigan has yet to play a ranked opponent, let alone one near its own punching weight.
However there’s both good news and bad for the Wolverines. The cushy schedule will rapidly come to a close and they can build a stronger resume, but winning will become more difficult in the process. In the final month of the season, Michigan matches up against both No. 1 Ohio State and Penn State — ranked at No. 11 in the CFP poll — in addition to a road trip east to Maryland. As graduate guard Trevor Keegan sees it, the next month of football is the real proving ground.
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“How you play in November is how you get remembered,” Keegan said Tuesday, referencing a mantra within the program. “These are the four games. We got four games left. They’re promised to us and we’re gonna do everything possible to win the rest of them.”
If it was even a question before, the Buckeyes’ throne atop the Playoff poll makes it all the more important for the Wolverines to find success down the stretch. In a fickle sport, Michigan will likely only have two opportunities to compete against ranked opponents as it currently stands. Moreover, with another Big Ten horse in the race for a field that will eventually winnow down to four, the odds can potentially become even slimmer.
In the Playoff’s young history, last season was the first ever to see two Big Ten teams find their way in — and pieces had to fall perfectly to make it happen. Upsets in conference championships and a diluted pool made all the difference. And while there’s no telling whether the chips may fall that way again, leaving it up to chance won’t help. Therefore, it becomes all the more apparent that November is make or break for the Wolverines.
Standing at 8-0 once felt unattainable. Now three years removed from what perhaps was rock-bottom for Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh’s program, it’s a new normal. Instead of stars in their eyes, Harbaugh’s players acknowledge that while the rankings do not define them, reaching postseason football certainly does.
And because of it, the CFP doesn’t seem so unthinkable.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
