Room for two? USA Today projects both Michigan and Ohio State in playoff

Picture a world in which Michigan and Ohio State squared off at season’s end with potentially a College Football Playoff berth at stake.

One team wins and goes on to the B1G Championship and maybe more. The other loses and watches the title game from home.

Then picture both of them making the College Football Playoff.

Crazy, right? Well, that’s the scenario that USA Today drew up in its first weekly Playoff Projection. Here’s a look at how the poll shook out in the first week, as voted on by the 13-person panel:

No, the rivals wouldn’t face off in the semifinal. Under that projection, Alabama would take on Michigan and Ohio State would square off with Clemson.

That would still be juicy in itself with the Jim Harbaugh-Nick Saban war of words this summer. It would also pit the top two Heisman candidates right now — Lamar Jackson and J.T. Barrett — against each other.

The College Football Playoff has never had two teams from the same conference. As of this time last week, many projected the B1G as one of the Power Five conferences that would be left out.

But with four teams in the top 11 of the Associated Press poll, perhaps the B1G’s strength of schedule is looking better than it did in the beginning of the season.