Michigan turns eyes to ACC after Washington wins

Michigan fans will ditch their Colorado gear and Twitter avatars and become Virginia Tech fans on Saturday.

If the Wolverines (10-2) are going to slide into the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings, they will need considerable help from the Hokies, who face Clemson in the ACC championship.

Alabama is No. 1, Ohio State is No. 2, Clemson is No. 3 and Washington is No. 4 in the CFP with the final rankings released on Sunday, along with the New Year’s Six destinations and the rest of the bowls. Michigan is No. 5 and ranked ahead of No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 7 Penn State, who will play each other in the Big Ten championship Saturday night.

CFP chair Kirby Hocutt stressed numerous times this week that that the separation between Washington and Michigan is “razor thin.” He described Michigan as having a “strong resume” with three wins over top-10 opponents.

But Washington apparently closed that gap for good when the Huskies won the Pac-12 championship Friday night, beating up on Colorado, 41-10. The Huskies are 12-1 and had three second-half interceptions, including a pick-six. Washington converted the other two Colorado turnovers into field goals. Colorado starting quarterback Sefo Liufau suffered a leg injury early in the game, and returned later but was ineffective.

Now, Michigan must hope Virginia Tech (9-3) can upset Clemson (11-1), which is a 10 1/2-point favorite heading in the ACC title game.

Michigan is coming off a 30-27, double-overtime loss at Ohio State last Saturday. The Wolverines lost two of their final three games by a total of four points, including a one-point loss at Iowa that ultimately was pivotal for the Wolverines in terms of their postseason chances.

“The selection committee looks at Michigan with the strong resume,” Hocutt said this week. “They have three wins against top-10 teams. They played an impressive game this past weekend against No. 2 Ohio State despite the loss. Small separation — I can’t emphasize that enough between No. 4 and No. 5.

Washington fortifies CFP bid by crushing Colorado

“We talked about Michigan’s additional loss to an unranked loss sitting there on their resume. So again, can’t look forward and anticipate what may or may not happen this weekend, but Michigan does have an impressive resume in the eyes of the selection committee.”

Had Michigan defeated Ohio State, the Wolverines would be preparing to face Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game and be very much in control of their playoff destiny. But they are home watching and waiting.

Most likely, Michigan will play in the Orange Bowl against Florida State. Assuming Clemson wins, the four playoff teams will be formally revealed at about 12:30 Sunday during ESPN’s “Selection Show,” and Michigan will then know its destination during the 2:30 announcement.

angelique.chengelis@detroitnews.com

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