Where Michigan football sits in College Football Playoff rankings to end regular season

The Michigan Wolverines are the No. 19 team in the country in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, the final release from the committee before the field of 12 is officially set on Sunday.

Michigan lost to Ohio State over the weekend, dropping its record to 9-3 on the season and dropping them out of the CFP race. It entered the week as the No. 15.

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. 5), USC (No. 16) and Michigan. U-M lost to three teams ranked in the top 25 during the regular season: Oklahoma (No. 8), USC, and Ohio State.

Most projections expect the Wolverines to play Texas in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on New Year’s Eve.

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 Championship Weekend slate of games.

Where Michigan sits in the third College Football Playoff rankings

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

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.