The stage is officially set. It’ll be No. 2 vs. No. 3 on Saturday at the Big House, with a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game — and the inside track to the College Football Playoff — on the line.
The top three teams in the CFP Committee’s latest rankings remained unchanged in Tuesday night’s unveiling, with Georgia at No. 1, followed by Ohio State and Michigan.
No. 4 Washington climbed into the hypothetical playoff for the first time this season, swapping places with the other remaining undefeated team, Florida State, after the Seminoles lost QB Jordan Travis to injury last week.
While Michigan will again be without head coach Jim Harbaugh for the regular season finale in the midst of the in-person scouting and sign-stealing scandal, the Wolverines will have their eyes on a third straight CFP berth.
A win over OSU would send Michigan to Indianapolis to take on Iowa in the conference title game, while a loss would leave them awaiting other results on Conference Championship Saturday.
The loser of “The Game” this weekend will be hoping for chaos to unfold, keeping at least one of the other undefeated teams out of the playoff.
Saturday's showdown will be the third straight year with both teams ranked in the top five. No. 3 Michigan beat No. 2 OSU last year, 45-23. The prior year, the No. 5 Wolverines beat the No. 2 Buckeyes 42-27.
That 2021 win finally helped Michigan break through for its first CFP appearance and end an eight-game losing streak in the rivalry. Michigan has not won three consecutive games against the OSU since 1995-97.