Michigan football's ranking in first College Football Playoff Top 25 revealed

Can the Wolverines were their way up into the top 12 by season's end?

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore reacts to a play against Purdue during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, November 1, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its first set of rankings on Tuesday evening, with the 7-2 Michigan Wolverines checking in at No. 21.

Michigan's ranking is the same as its AP Top 25 ranking, where Sherrone Moore's team also sits as the No. 21 team in the nation. However, now that the CFP rankings are out, those will take precedent over any other ranking system as its the 12-person CFP committee who will ultimately decide the 12 teams who make the playoffs when the final rankings are revealed on Dec. 7.

We debut at 21 in the initial CFP rankings of the year pic.twitter.com/ZDVnGNjhhe

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) November 5, 2025

Over the next four Tuesdays up until that point, the committee will update its rankings based on opinions from results across the college football world from week-to week.

If the Wolverines win out over their last three games and finish with a 10-2 overall record, that would figure to be good enough for Michigan to move into the top 12 as that would give the team a victory over the CFP's current No. 1 team, the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Michigan's two losses have come against Oklahoma (7-2) and USC (6-2), who check in at No. 12 and No. 19 in the initial rankings, respectively. The Wolverines' most quality win to date came against Washington on Oct. 18 in a 24-7 victory over the currently 23rd-ranked Huskies.

The College Football Playoff begins on Dec. 19-20 with four first-round games to be played on the campuses of the higher seeds. It concludes Jan. 19 with the national championship game at Hard Rock Stadium outside Miami (Fla.).

Michigan running back Jordan Marshall (23) runs against Purdue defensive back Tahj Ra-El (21) during the second half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, November 1, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The CFP committee is using a new method this season with a "straight seeding" model, which places teams on the same line in the bracket as their ranking without regard to whether they won their conference title, as was the case last year in the first 12-team playoff rollout. However, five conference champions are still guaranteed spots.

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