Which College Football Playoff game will Michigan play? There appear to be two viable solutions on the table right now.
If the Michigan Wolverines win the Big Ten Championship Game against Iowa on Saturday as expected, they’ll be headed to their third straight College Football Playoff.
Some other teams don’t have quite as clear of a path. The Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies play Friday night in a game that could be a de facto play-in game. Washington is currently the No. 3 team in the country and is undefeated, but the Ducks are favored by 9.5 points, according to DraftKings SportsBook. If the Huskies pull off the upset, they’ll very likely be the team that faces Michigan if Georgia beats Alabama in the SEC Championship.
If Oregon wins, perhaps Florida State jumps to No. 3. The Seminoles are wrapping up their undefeated regular season with a matchup against a tough 10-2 Louisville squad in the ACC Championship.
Then, there is the Georgia Bulldogs, who have been the No. 1 team in the country for a majority of the season and are trying to three-peat. Michigan lost to the Bulldogs in 2021, which has left a sour taste in the mouths of many Wolverines faithful. Likely, the only way these two meet in the semifinals is if Alabama wins the SEC Championship and both make the College Football Playoff.
Of those four teams, which would you like to see in the semifinals?
First things first is a Big Ten Championship against the Iowa Hawkeyes, who are No. 16 in the rankings and have the No. 1 defense in the country, per SP+. Still, the Wolverines are favored by 23 points.
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Michigan Wolverines’ Victory Over Ohio State Draws Record-Breaking Viewership On Fox Sports
Fox Sports experienced an incredible surge in viewer ratings recently. The Wolverines’ epic 45-23 victory over the Buckeyes averaged 17 million viewers, peaking at nearly 20 million viewers at key points of the match.
The game is praised as the most-watched regular-season college football game since 2011, making it the most popular College Football (CFB) game aired on Fox.
Michigan bagged their second consecutive victory against the Buckeyes, securing their place for the Big Ten title against Purdue the following weekend.
Regardless of the outcome against the Boilermakers – even if it transpires as a colossal upset – Michigan is well-positioned to advance to the College Football Playoff for the second time in a row.
Michigan Ohio face-off had been the most anticipated game of the season, with both teams entering the regular-season finale undefeated.
The impact of the game’s outcome hit Ohio State hard as the team tumbled down three places from No. 2 to No. 5 in the AP Top 25 following their loss.
This fallout will likely relegate them outside the top four in the critical College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday.
The substantial audience attracted by this rivalry validates why networks like Fox are eager to invest heavily in Big Ten rights.
It substantiates their strategic decision to schedule the most significant game of the week at noon ET. The Big Ten will soon have lucrative TV contracts with Fox, CBS, and NBC, amounting to $7 billion from July onwards.
Interestingly, this shift signifies the end of the Big Ten’s longstanding association with ESPN.
Looking towards the future, once USC and UCLA become a part of the Big Ten in 2024, the conference will feature TV slots on Fox at noon ET, CBS at 3:30 p.m., and finally on NBC during prime time.
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