Michigan moves to No. 2 in updated CFP rankings
Michigan opened No. 5 in the initial College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, moved up to No. 3, and now ranks No. 2 after a huge, 45-23 win at Ohio State.
Georgia remains No. 1 after handling Georgia Tech. The Buckeyes dropped to No. 5 behind No. 3 TCU and No. 4 USC, which handled Notre Dame.
Michigan is dominating the competition this year and remains in the top five in several national categories. The defense stepped up again against the Buckeyes, holding them to 3 points in the second half, and has given up 5.4 points per game on average in the second halves of games this year.
Penn State (10-2), a winner over Michigan State, was the only other Big Ten team ranked, coming in at No. 8.
Sophomore running back Donovan Edwards was one of the catalysts Saturday. His 75- and 85-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter made it a blowout. He played with a cast on his hand and carried the load.
“When Donovan first got here, he was a midyear freshman and he had just come off of surgery and was in a cast for all — the whole spring practice — 6, 7, 8 weeks,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said. “And one point I remember distinctly saying — because he was catching everything with a cast — if he could catch everything, certainly everybody without a cast could catch.
“So … there was no pain management. And it’s just that there was not a lot of pain or he’s just that tough of a guy, because there’s no pain management to it. Other than how he’s managing it … he just comes and comes.”
He’ll likely carry the load Saturday night against Purdue, as well, with Blake Corum injured.
Most believe Michigan and Georgia are locks for the playoff win or lose this weekend. The Bulldogs play LSU in the SEC title game. USC faces Utah in the Pac-12 championship, while TCU plays Kansas State in the Big 12 title game.
