As was pointed out in another thread, the B1G champion has now been left out of the playoff for three straight years. Granted, OSU represented the conference (badly) in 2016, but not as the champion and it was an odd set of circumstances.
In any case, a pattern has emerged here with it. Twice, Michigan was in position to glide right into the playoff if they won out in 2016 and this year. In both cases they failed to do so, stumbling at Iowa and OSU in 2016 and not even showing up at OSU this season.
But in both cases, they rose into the Top 4 with relative ease and sat there for a few weeks this time, which leads one to believe the following:
The committee favors Michigan in the playoff system.
That might seem difficult to believe since we and everyone else perceive them to be so far behind the elite teams that are always in playoff contention every year, especially after this season's disaster, but you can't deny how the committee has treated Michigan throughout the season right up until the very end.
We heard all the whining from others about how our schedule turned out to be a dud because Wisky, Sparty and PSU weren't nearly as good as they were expected to be, and the evidence was certainly there to support that, but the committee didn't care and kept them right in the thick of it every week. Even after losing to OSU by 23 in what was a national embarrassment, the furthest they dropped was 7th, just behind the team that annihilated them, the same team that didn't move an inch even after beating Northwestern to win the B1G.
It seriously feels like the committee is telling Michigan every year that all they have to do is go 12-1 or better and they will be a shoo-in for the playoff. We know if they beat OSU in 2016 and then beat Wisky in the B1G title game it's a no brainer. The same was true this year if they beat OSU and then Northwestern in the B1G title game. Oklahoma and Georgia fans would have been watching Indy closely last Saturday night if that was Michigan playing, because the committee wouldn't have dropped them out of 4th if they kept winning.
What does this really mean? It means that if Michigan can get over this OSU hump, they are a playoff lock, even more so than OSU, clearly. The committee favors them when they do well and if they can finally find a way to win the B1G with one loss or less, it won't be a question of if they make the playoff, but who are they playing in the first round. Essentially, the committee wants them to be part of the elite and it appears they will give Michigan every opportunity to prove that from here on out, based on how they have treated them in the past two seasons that Michigan was in contention for the B1G.
So for the love of God and all things Michigan, they better figure out how to beat OSU because the sky is seriously the limit if they can get past that. The committee is WAITING to reward them for it, it seems.
In any case, a pattern has emerged here with it. Twice, Michigan was in position to glide right into the playoff if they won out in 2016 and this year. In both cases they failed to do so, stumbling at Iowa and OSU in 2016 and not even showing up at OSU this season.
But in both cases, they rose into the Top 4 with relative ease and sat there for a few weeks this time, which leads one to believe the following:
The committee favors Michigan in the playoff system.
That might seem difficult to believe since we and everyone else perceive them to be so far behind the elite teams that are always in playoff contention every year, especially after this season's disaster, but you can't deny how the committee has treated Michigan throughout the season right up until the very end.
We heard all the whining from others about how our schedule turned out to be a dud because Wisky, Sparty and PSU weren't nearly as good as they were expected to be, and the evidence was certainly there to support that, but the committee didn't care and kept them right in the thick of it every week. Even after losing to OSU by 23 in what was a national embarrassment, the furthest they dropped was 7th, just behind the team that annihilated them, the same team that didn't move an inch even after beating Northwestern to win the B1G.
It seriously feels like the committee is telling Michigan every year that all they have to do is go 12-1 or better and they will be a shoo-in for the playoff. We know if they beat OSU in 2016 and then beat Wisky in the B1G title game it's a no brainer. The same was true this year if they beat OSU and then Northwestern in the B1G title game. Oklahoma and Georgia fans would have been watching Indy closely last Saturday night if that was Michigan playing, because the committee wouldn't have dropped them out of 4th if they kept winning.
What does this really mean? It means that if Michigan can get over this OSU hump, they are a playoff lock, even more so than OSU, clearly. The committee favors them when they do well and if they can finally find a way to win the B1G with one loss or less, it won't be a question of if they make the playoff, but who are they playing in the first round. Essentially, the committee wants them to be part of the elite and it appears they will give Michigan every opportunity to prove that from here on out, based on how they have treated them in the past two seasons that Michigan was in contention for the B1G.
So for the love of God and all things Michigan, they better figure out how to beat OSU because the sky is seriously the limit if they can get past that. The committee is WAITING to reward them for it, it seems.
