Joel Klatt explains why a 10-2 resume for Michigan would prevail in playoff discussions

When the College Football Playoff rankings were revealed on ESPN by the committee on Tuesday night, the 8-2 Michigan Wolverines remained at No. 18 with two games to go. Sherrone Moore's team has opportunities in front of them, first against Maryland this Saturday, then a showdown against No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 29 at the Big House.

In Schembechler Hall, the message Moore and the staff have consistently preached is that all of the team's goals are intact and that "everything is still in front" of them if they take care of business the rest of the way.

However, several other teams vying for playoff spots currently rank ahead of Michigan, and if those teams have a strong finish, will the Wolverines' goals actually still be in front of them even if they win out? Or would the committee leave Michigan out and select other teams over them?

Fox Sports' Joel Klatt said on his show that he would be very confident in a 10-2 Michigan team getting into the playoff and believes the Wolverines would win in a hypothetical argument over 10-2 Miami (FL) and Notre Dame teams. and possibly Texas as well.

"If, for some reason, Michigan does beat Ohio State and they're 10-2, then you can start to look at their resume and their eye test a lot differently than you would Texas," Klatt said. "Because Michigan would be coming off six straight wins, they would have beaten the clear No. 1 team in the country by the committee standards—and you look up, and you're like 'that's the best win in the country. And they would absolutely be on the bubble line."

"You see, I don't even know if you can get Texas to the bubble line even with a win over Texas A&M. Maybe you can, certainly they would pass Vandy and who knows. But in the event Michigan wins, they win an argument over a 10-2 Miami, they win an argument over a 10-2 Notre Dame. At this point, they've got a game—and I've made the argument in the past that the committee and people in college football have been talking for a long time about, and specifically this year, about this idea that they don't want to penalize teams for scheduling hard non-conference games."

"So, I firmly believe that they would view Michigan more as like a 10.5-1.5 team rather than a 10-2 team. Which is kind of what they're doing for Texas because one of their losses in on the road at Ohio State. So if you're going to do that, then you'd have to apply the same logic to Michigan, who went to Oklahoma and lost what was a good football game to John Mateer who was playing his best ball."

"If they were to beat Ohio State, they would the singular best win in the country, period."

"In the event Michigan wins [over Ohio State], they win an argument over a 10-2 Miami [and Notre Dame]."

Could the "best win in the country" push Michigan into the CFP? @joelklatt with more. pic.twitter.com/0VzOfs7b54
— The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football on FOX Pod (@JoelKlattShow) November 19, 2025

Is Klatt right?

Of course, if you're a Michigan fan, you will likely align with Klatt's logic. But even taking the bias out of it if you do root for the Maize and Blue, the logic does seem to add up in the scenario the Wolverines end up 10-2, whether they make the Big Ten title game or not.

If Michigan does pick up a win in The Game and beat the Buckeyes for a fifth-straight time, it's likely the committee will realize they undervalued the Wolverines. With the combination of having the best win in the country and winning their last six games, it would seem like Michigan would have an edge over other teams who might be in the conversation.

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