Bowl projections: Michigan picking up steam to make College Football Playoff

There wasn’t as much chaos this week in college football, but there were still some big upsets that knocked some teams out of playoff contention.

Obviously we all know if the Michigan Wolverines win out, a playoff berth will happen. However, many people believe the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State game should still make the field. Oregon losing this week certainly helped the chances of that happening, but a couple more teams need to lose for both teams to make it a true possibility.

Let’s see where the Wolverines are being projected in this week’s bowl projections:

ESPN: CFP vs. Tennessee; Rose Bowl vs. Oregon

ESPN has two staff members do a projection, and they are split this week on who wins The Game and gets into the CFP. Interestingly, Michigan’s CFP opponent in this projection is Tennessee.

CBS: Rose Bowl vs. USC

CBS likes Ohio State to beat Michigan, so the Wolverines would go to Pasadena. They believe Georgia and TCU will remain in the field with Ohio State and Tennessee sliding in the top-four and replacing Michigan.

247Sports: Rose Bowl vs. Washington

Washington put itself into the New Year’s Six talk after a big win over Oregon. 247Sports has the Wolverines playing against Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies in the granddaddy of them all. Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and USC make the playoff.

Sporting News: CFP vs. Georgia

Sporting News is the only outlet this week that has both Michigan and Ohio State in the CFP. They have Michigan losing to the Buckeyes, but still getting in to play the No. 1 seed Georgia. They also have TCU in, thinking the loser of Michigan-OSU will get the edge over Tennessee.

The Action Network: Rose Bowl vs. Oregon

Much like one of ESPN’s predictions, Brett McMurphy of The Action Network also has the Wolverines in Pasadena taking on the Oregon Ducks. His CFP consists of Georgia vs. Tennessee and Ohio State vs. TCU. His championship game is, not shockingly at all, Georgia vs. Ohio State.

Right now, it seems Georgia, Michigan-OSU winner and Tennessee are locks to get in. Tennessee is lucky to be not be going to the SEC Championship because it doesn’t have that extra game to lose. The Volunteers certainly could get left out, but it’s looking like if it wins out, Tennessee is in.

If TCU and USC both lose, I think the loser of The Game has a really good chance of getting in the playoff. No matter what happens, it’s going to be an exciting three weeks to determine this year’s CFP field.