Can Michigan, Ohio State both make College Football Playoff? Paths for loser of 'The Game'
In 2022, both Michigan and Ohio State made the College Football Playoff, the first time in the history of the four-team playoff that two Big Ten teams made the postseason in the same year.
Other teams from the same conference have made the playoff on multiple occasions, including Alabama and Georgia out of the SEC in 2017 and 2021 and Clemson and Notre Dame (participating as a member of the ACC) in 2020.
With both No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan coming into "The Game" undefeated — like they did in 2022 — it's within the realm of possibility that Saturday's loser between the Wolverines and Buckeyes can still make the playoff as a one-loss team. But what other results need to happen to make that a reality?
Here's a look back at how multiple teams from the same conference made their way into the playoff in the past, and what needs to happen for Michigan and Ohio State to replicate the feat a second straight year:
More: Will Harbaugh's absence cost Michigan football vs. Ohio State? J.J. McCarthy set to find out
Ohio State in 2022
In 2022, a one-loss Ohio State team made the CFP. The other conference champions in 2022 were ...
Big Ten champion Michigan (13-0)
SEC champion Georgia (13-0)
Big 12 champion Kansas State (10-3)
ACC champion Clemson (11-2)
The Wolverines and Bulldogs were the only two conference champions to make the playoff, as TCU — which had just one loss on the season, in the Big 12 title game — also made it in.
Had the USC (11-2), not lost the Pac-12 title game to Utah, Ohio State likely would have been left out. Whether a similar scenario is possible with multiple conference champions having two losses will become clear after rivalry week.
As it stands, the Power Five conference championship games will play out like this:
ACC: Florida State vs. Louisville
Big 12: To be determined
Big Ten: Michigan/Ohio State vs. Iowa
Pac-12: Washington vs. Oregon/Arizona
SEC: Georgia vs. Alabama
Of that group, Oregon (10-1), Alabama (10-1) and and Louisville (10-1) can be eliminated with a loss; no two-loss team has ever made the CFP in the four-team era. Similarly, Iowa (9-2) is already virtually eliminated following its losses to Penn State and Minnesota.
The Big 12 has yet to determine its champions, but only Texas (10-1) can legimitately challenge for the College Football Playoff. Oklahoma (9-2), Oklahoma State (8-3) and Kansas State (8-3) are all eliminated from contention.
If any of Washington (11-0), Georgia (11-0) and Florida State (11-0) win their respective conference champions, they would likely make the playoff over the loser of "The Game," even if they take a loss during rivalry week, by virtue of winnint their respective conference titles.
REQUIRED READING: Michigan football has lauded its depth since summer. Ohio State week is the time prove it.
Georgia in 2021
Georgia suffered its only loss of the season against Alabama in the 2021 SEC championship game. At the time, there were five undefeated or one-loss teams in the field, including Georgia and Alabama (12-1), Michigan (12-1), Cincinnati (13-0) and Notre Dame (11-1). Notre Dame had a head-to-head loss vs. Cincinnati and no conference championship, which left them out.
In order for the loser of "The Game" to get in, it would benefit them for there to be five or fewer undefeated or one-loss teams.
More: Michigan football's win over Maryland reveals some concerns entering Ohio State showdown
Notre Dame in 2020
Notre Dame (10-1) suffered a loss to Clemson (10-1) in the ACC championship game in 2020, but had beaten the Tigers earlier in the year during regular season play. This scenario is unlikely not applicable to the loser of "The Game," which won't get an opportunity to play for the conference title. The team that could help it is Washington, who is likely to face Oregon in the Pac-12 title game.
The 2020 season was confusing due to an inconsistent number of games played between teams and conferences. But Texas A&M and Indiana were both left out of the playoff as non-conference champions whose only loss came head-to-head versus the conference champion — the scenario the loser of The Game would find themselves in.
Alabama in 2017
Alabama, like the loser of "The Game" will be, was a one-loss team that did not play in the conference title game, and lost its only game in the final week of the regular season.
Alabama got in over a two-loss Big Ten champion Ohio State and a one-loss Big Ten championship-losing Wisconsin team. Ohio State in 2023 has a similar pedigree to that Alabama team, and the committee has shown they respect the Buckeyes' resume, ranking them first in the first two sets of CFP rankings (just as they did that Alabama team).
But, just like the other scenarios, it relied on there being multiple two-loss conference champions.
More: Michigan football's first test from a quality QB delivers a passing grade. Barely.
Can loser of Michigan-Ohio State make the CFP?
The most straightforward path for both Michigan and Ohio State is for multiple two-loss teams to win conference title games.
No two-loss team has ever made the College Football Playoff. A one-loss conference champion would likely get into the playoff before the loser of "The Game." The loser of "The Game" also has to worry about a potential conference championship-losing Georgia or Washington, who would both have a case.
That scenario, of course, would entail quite a bit of chaos in the final two weeks, with multiple top-eight teams in the CFP rankings dropping one or more games during Rivalry Week and conference championship weekend.
Should that happen though, it would open the door for one of the Wolverines or Buckeyes to make the CFP after losing in Rivalry Week. Ohio State's challenging schedule in non-conference play could help it beat out other one-loss teams, whereas Michigan would have a harder time due to their weaker strength of schedule.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Can Michigan, Ohio State make CFP? Potential path for loser of 'The Game'
