Bowl projections launch Michigan into the College Football Playoff

Entering this weekend, the Michigan Wolverines were ticketed for the Rose Bowl, a nice consolation prize for a good season, but it would mean yet another loss to Ohio State. Now, they have vaulted squarely into the College Football Playoff picture as 10.5-point favorites over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship.

With all that in consideration, let’s take a look at Michigan’s updated bowl projections.

Athlon

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX) vs. Cincinnati, Dec. 31

247Sports

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX) vs. Cincinnati, Dec. 31

CBS Sports

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX) vs. Cincinnati, Dec. 31

Action Network

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX) vs. Oklahoma State, Dec. 31

College Football News

Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX) vs. Oklahoma State, Dec. 31

Most projections have Michigan in the 2 vs. 3 matchup, which would put the Wolverines in the Cotton Bowl. The only difference is the opponent.

Some put the Cincinnati Bearcats as the No. 3 team since that’s their current rank in the AP Poll and where they would move up in the CFP rankings after dropping Ohio State. But others have put Oklahoma State in the No. 3 spot, and it is easy to see the playoff committee rewarding the Cowboys for beating Oklahoma and Baylor in back-to-back weeks in this scenario by bumping them off the Georgia line.

Either way, every prediction has Michigan winning and reaching the National Championship game. No pressure!

ESPN

Kyle Bonagura: Orange Bowl (Miami, FL) vs. Alabama, Dec. 31

Mark Schlabach: Cotton Bowl (Arlington, TX) vs. Cincinnati, Dec. 31

The lone outlier in these predictions is Kyle Bonagura of ESPN, who is predicting Alabama will beat Georgia in the SEC Championship. That would drop Georgia from the top spot and put Michigan in the 1 vs. 4 matchup in the Orange Bowl against Alabama. This scenario would pretty clearly be less ideal than the Cotton Bowl.