Michigan remains at No. 9 in the AP, jumps to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll

Now that the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings are being published on Tuesdays, all eyes will shift towards what the committee decides. However, the AP Poll and Coaches Poll still provide a great leading indicator to how the CFP poll will shape up in a few days.

Michigan solidly defeated Indiana 29-7 on Saturday night in the Big House. The Wolverines remained at No. 9 in the AP Poll and jumped up from No. 10 to No. 8 in the Coaches Poll.

Following Michigan State’s defeat to Purdue, it’s fascinating to see where the Spartans land in relation to the Wolverines, whom they beat just one week ago. The Spartans’ resume now consists of one loss to an unranked Purdue team while Michigan’s resume consists of one loss to a top 10 team. However, the head-to-head obviously favors the Spartans. Michigan State sits at No. 8 in the AP Poll (one spot ahead of Michigan) and No. 9 in the Coaches Poll (one spot behind Michigan).

Elsewhere around the Big Ten, Ohio State escaped Nebraska and remained at No. 6 in the AP. Iowa and Penn State, the two other shockingly ranked teams from last week, now sit at No. 19 and No. 23 respectively. Wisconsin jumped back into the rankings this week at No. 20. Don’t look now, but the Badgers have won five games in a row. Lastly, Purdue sits in the ‘Other Receiving Votes’ category.

Around the country, Kentucky, SMU and Fresno State fell off the rankings completely. Auburn and Baylor dropped the furthest, though they only fell four spots each. No one who was ranked last week jumped up more than three spots this week.

Keep an eye on Cincinnati on Tuesday to see if the CFP committee has any more compassion for them. I doubt it, but Cincinnati’s place in the playoff will be pivotal for many of the teams involved.