ESPN's College Footbal Playoff reveal panel reacts to Michigan jumping Texas in CFP rankings

Overall, the latest College Football Playoff rankings did not bring too much movement. A few slight ones might turn out to be incredibly impactful, though. Such as the Michigan Wolverines jumping up three spots over the Texas Longhorns, thanks to a win over the Maryland Terrapins.

Now, Michigan might be in a position to earn an at-large bid by beating the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday in The Game. At least, that’s what ESPN’s Dusty Dvoracek believes. He gave his reaction to Michigan leapfrogging Texas to No. 15 overall.

“This intrigues me,” Dvoracek said. “They just jumped Texas. They went up three spots, passed Texas. Bryce Underwood, coming off a really good game. He had two touchdowns. They were 12 of 14 on third down. Go on the road, get an impressive victory. And the whlole thing with this — at 15, are they in position, if they beat the Buckeyes, even without the Big Ten title game, to get into this Playoff race?”

Obviously, results ahead of Michigan certainly would matter. Plenty of teams in the range of 10-15 are slated to play in rivalry games. With so much on the line, pressure might get to one of them and cause an upset.

At the same time, beating Ohio State would put Michigan in the conversation for best win in the country. Or maybe there is not even a conversation, considering the Buckeyes have been the CFP committee’s No. 1 team from the start. Even as a couple of undefeated teams sit behind them, there has not been much discussion about a change at the top.

However, focus cannot be on the College Football Playoff. Michigan has grown used to beating Ohio State in recent seasons, hoping to extend the streak to five. Last year’s victory was the first to not assist the Wolverines when it came to the CFP. Coming out on top on Saturday certainly bolsters the resume in a big way.

Michigan still alive for Big Ten Championship

Making the Big Ten Championship is still possible for Michigan. Beating Ohio State is a must and from there, some help is needed. Attention would then be turned to a pair of rivalry games — Indiana–Purdue and Oregon–Washington.

Sherrone Moore‘s club would need one of the Hoosiers and Ducks to get upset in order to appear in Indianapolis. If both lose, we would actually get two straight weeks of Michigan-Ohio State.