Boo Corrigan on Michigan's CFP ranking: Committee's job is to rank postseason-eligible teams
Last week, both College Football Playoff committee chairman Boo Corrigan and executive director Bill Hancock said the investigation into Michigan is “an NCAA issue,” and the committee will rank teams based on their on-field performance. After the Wolverines came in at No. 3 in the Week 10 rankings on Tuesday, Corrigan reiterated that stance.
The second CFP rankings of the year came as the Big Ten weighs a possible punishment against Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines as a result of the investigation. Connor Stalions, the staffer at the center of the NCAA and Big Ten investigation, is no longer with the program after resigning on Friday. However, the conference sent a notice to UM about possible disciplinary action on Monday, and the university has until Wednesday to respond.
For now, though, Michigan is postseason-eligible. As a result, Corrigan said the Wolverines will stay in the rankings based on what they do on the field.
“Once again, and not to be repetitive in this, our mission as a committee is to judge the teams that are eligible for postseason,” Corrigan said after the CFP reveal show. “Until something changes in that, we’re going to continue to follow that track and make sure that we’re following the protocols. Again, this is not a CFP selection committee issue.”
CFP executive director Bill Hancock: Michigan situation is ‘not a CFP matter’
College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock also weighed in on the organization’s stance, again saying it’s “not a CFP matter” and the committee will continue to rank Michigan.
“We are not a governance body,” Hancock said on a post-reveal show teleconference. “We’re certainly all aware of the Michigan situation, but it’s just not a CFP matter. We will take what we get from the NCAA or from anybody else, and whatever facts are available to those other groups, then we’ll consider it. But all we do is rank the teams that are eligible for our games.”
One person who wasn’t in attendance for the CFP committee meeting was Michigan AD Warde Manuel. He announced he was planning to stay back in Ann Arbor to monitor the situation in light of a notification of possible disciplinary action from the Big Ten.
Corrigan noted it’s not the first time someone has missed a meeting, which is why it “had no impact” on the proceedings.
“Before I take your questions, I want to let the group know that Warde Manuel was not able to join us this week,” Corrigan said. “This had no impact on the work of the selection committee. This is not the first time we’ve had a person miss a meeting, nor will it be the last. It just kind of happens.”