Where Michigan is ranked in the College Football Playoff before Ohio State

The Michigan Wolverines are the No. 15 team in the country in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released heading into the Week 14 showdown vs. No. 1 Ohio State. They moved up three spots from last week after debuting in the first batch of rankings at No. 21 three weeks ago.

Michigan currently sits at 9-2 (7-1 Big Ten) on the season after a 45-20 win over Maryland on Saturday in College Park. The group is riding a five-game win streak with victories over Washington, at Michigan State, Purdue, Northwestern and the Terrapins.

The Wolverines are one of five Big Ten teams listed in the third rankings, joined by Ohio State (No. 1), Indiana (No. 2), Oregon (No. 6), Michigan and USC (No. 17)

U-M has lost to two teams ranked in the top 25: Oklahoma (No. 8) and USC. It plays OSU at home to end the regular season.

From here through Selection Sunday on Dec. 7, the committee will update the rankings each Tuesday night. Michigan has a chance to stay in the fight over the last few games of the season with Maryland up next. Should it get to 9-2, it has a chance to punch a ticket, or at least make its case, with a win over Ohio State on Nov. 29.

Here is how the committee ranked the teams heading into the Week 13 slate of games.

Where Michigan sits in the third College Football Playoff rankings

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Texas A&M
4. Georgia
5. Texas Tech
6. Oregon
7. Ole Miss
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Alabama
11. BYU
12. Miami (FL)
13. Utah
14. Vanderbilt
15. Michigan
16. Texas
17. USC
18. Virginia
19. Tennessee
20. Arizona State
21. SMU
22. Pittsburgh
23. Georgia Tech
24. Tulane
25. Arizona

The College Football Playoff is a 12-team field for the second season in a row, but with a format change. Instead of autobyes for the four highest-ranked conference champions, the committee will give byes to the four best teams regardless of championship weekend. Seeds 5-12 will play games on campus sites on Dec. 19-20. The quarterfinals will be held at the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the semifinals at the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. The national championship game is set for Jan. 19, 2026 from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida.

The five highest-ranked conference champions will still make the field, but the teams will be seeded 1 through 12 accordingly, with no re-seeding.