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Can loser of The Game land in the Playoff? Greg McElroy weighs in
By Paul Harvey
Published:
All eyes will be on Columbus this weekend for The Game between Michigan and Ohio State. Those two teams will enter as top-4 programs and are looking to win the B1G and advance to the College Football Playoff.
However, there might be a path into the Playoff for whoever loses on Saturday. While it would not be an enviable place to be, the loser on Saturday will be done with their season at one loss while other teams will be tested over Championship Weekend.
While ESPN’s Greg McElroy is not ready to say the loser of The Game will wind up in the No. 4 spot, he sees an increasing possibility for that outcome to playout:
“It’s not truth yet, but it’s possible. I think it depends much more on what things look like in the loss,” said McElroy during his Always College Football Podcast. “Is it close? Is it competitive? Because if it’s completely one-sided ala a 2-TD, 3-TD performance in favor of Ohio State, it’s going to be hard to justify keeping Michigan around.”
In the scenario of a Michigan loss, McElroy went on to point out that it would be hard to justify dropping a one-loss Wolverines program behind the host of teams with two losses.
“When you consider everything here, let’s say Ohio State wins by a touchdown. Let’s say 38-31… how far can you justify dropping Michigan? Can you justify dropping them behind a 2-loss LSU? Can you justify dropping them behind a 2-loss Tennessee/Alabama? No,” McElroy explained. “The only team you can potentially justify dropping them below is a one-loss USC and an undefeated TCU.
“In the event of USC potentially losing to Notre Dame or Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship, I think you will find Michigan in that No. 4 spot where they will face off against Georgia.”
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.