As long as the Michigan Wolverines are in contention for the College Football Playoff, ClickOnDetroit.com will list each weekend's games that could help U of M's quest to reach the Final Four.
It's the final weekend before the College Football Playoff committee releases its first set of rankings to kick off the final five weeks of the season.
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Last week was a wild one, with Ohio State falling to Penn State and Houston officially dropping out of the playoff picture. There are only around 20 teams left in the running as the field dwindles down to the four teams that will eventually compete in the playoffs.
Michigan is one of the teams that's still alive, so we'll take another look at the teams Michigan fans should root for this weekend.
If you're wondering why we're doing this or want to see how last weekend went for Michigan, click here. Basically, these outcomes would improve Michigan's chances get into the College Football Playoff if it lost to Ohio State or a West Division team in the Big Ten title game.
One thing to remember: The committee puts great importance on conference championships, so it's not impossible that a two-loss conference champion would get into the playoff over a one-loss at-large team, depending on the rest of the resume.
Must-haves
These are the games that absolutely have to go Michigan's way to keep its playoff hopes alive.
Michigan over Michigan State (Michigan 32, Michigan State 23): As long as Michigan controls its own destiny, this will be the only game in the must-have category. An undefeated Michigan team would obviously be one of the top two seeds in the College Football Playoff this season.
Toss-ups
These are the games that would help Michigan's playoff chances and have a realistic chance to happen.
Virginia Tech over Pittsburgh (Virginia Tech 39, Pittsburgh 36): Yes, Virginia Tech is ranked in the top 25, but the Hokies lost to Syracuse by 14 points, so they're not going to the playoff. Pittsburgh has two much better losses and is technically still alive in the ACC Coastal Division.
UCF over Houston (Houston 31, UCF 24): Michigan's win over Central Florida has turned out to be a fairly solid one, especially after Scott Frost got his team above .500 with a win at Connecticut last weekend. UCF is two plays from being 6-1 on the season and could really turn some heads with a road win over Houston.
Oklahoma State over West Virginia (Oklahoma State 37, West Virginia 20): West Virginia definitely looks like it's for real. It already has wins over BYU, Texas Tech and TCU, and the defense held the last two foes to a combined 27 points -- a remarkable accomplishment in the Big 12. Non-conference champions are all hoping the Big 12 will get left out of the playoff this season.
Minnesota over Illinois (Minnesota 40, Illinois 17): Another 6-2 Big Ten team makes the conference look even stronger. If Minnesota can get to eight wins this season, that helps the entire conference.
Penn State over Purdue (Penn State 62, Purdue 24): Remember, if Michigan is trying to get into the playoff, it won't be competing against Ohio State for the final spot. So there's no point hoping Penn State will lose and make the Buckeyes' loss look less respectable. Michigan beat Penn State by 39 points, so if the Nittany Lions can keep winning, that could become a comparable victory to Louisville's blowout over FSU.
Georgia over Florida (Florida 24, Georgia 10): While the SEC West is considered a powerhouse, the East is weak again this season. The Gators are the only one-loss team in the division, so a loss to Georgia would basically eliminate half of the SEC, barring something crazy.
Texas over Baylor (Texas 35, Baylor 34): Again, undefeated Big 12 teams are bad news. Baylor has six wins this season, and four of them came over teams that currently own 1-6 records. How are the Bears in the Top 10? Because they haven't lost. Maybe Texas can take care of that.
Utah over Washington (Washington 31, Utah 24): This matchup should be double bolded with 72-point font. That's how important it could be for a one-loss Michigan team. Washington and Utah are the last two Pac-12 teams with realistic playoff chances, and Washington's weak schedule would really hurt it with a loss. Sure, this would run the risk of Utah making a run, but Colorado will have something to say about that in the de facto Pac-12 South title game in Boulder on Nov. 26.
Either Maryland or Indiana (Indiana 42, Maryland 36): This is a win-win game for the Big Ten as a whole. Either Indiana takes another step toward giving Michigan a potential 10th bowl team, or Maryland improves to 6-2 on the season.
Wyoming over Boise State (Wyoming 30, Boise State 28): Boise State should have been handed its first loss last season, but BYU mismanaged the end of the game and now, there's a 7-0 Mountain West team picking up steam. It's always safe to hope Boise State picks up at least one loss.
Wisconsin over Nebraska (Wisconsin 23, Nebraska 17 [OT]): Even though this would cannibalize one of the Big Ten's undefeated teams, Michigan needs that Wisconsin victory to look as good as possible. Since the Wolverines don't play Nebraska in the regular season, Wisconsin is the team to root for.
Ole Miss over Auburn (Auburn 40, Ole Miss 29): Auburn was basically dead in the water, and then it beat ranked Arkansas by 53 points. It's a long shot, but if Auburn somehow runs the title and wins the SEC, I think it would have a great chance to get in over one-loss teams.
Florida State over Clemson (Clemson 37, Florida State 34): Clemson has been playing with fire all season, so a loss to Florida State would probably drop them lower than normal for an undefeated team. The ACC would take a major hit if Clemson loses this game, which obviously helps the leagues hoping to get two teams in the playoff.
Hawaii over New Mexico (New Mexico 28, Hawaii 21): Remember last season, when the CFP committee valued "wins over winning teams?" If Hawaii beats New Mexico, Fresno State and Massachusetts, it will finish with seven wins and boost Michigan's resume by a fraction.
Get greedy
These are games that would help Michigan's playoff chances but probably won't happen.
Virginia over Louisville (Louisville 32, Virginia 25): Louisville is looking very dangerous. The Cardinals have the best one-loss resume in the country after smashing N.C. State by 41 points just one week after N.C. State should have knocked off Clemson. If Michigan drops a game, there's a good chance the team with Lamar Jackson and a 43-point win over Florida State in its pocket would get in first.
Northwestern over Ohio State (Ohio State 24, Northwestern 20): When there was a chance for Michigan and Ohio State to meet as undefeated teams, that was something to root for. Now that Ohio State already has a loss, Michigan fans should root for another, so that even if the Wolverines lose in Columbus, there's a chance they could win the division.
Kansas over Oklahoma (Oklahoma 56, Kansas 3): Kansas, yeah right. if the Jayhawks keep this game within 20 points, that'll be a disappointing performance for a hot Oklahoma team.
South Carolina over Tennessee (South Carolina 24, Tennessee 21): This is in the "get greedy" section, because South Carolina is really, really bad this season. Its three wins came over Vanderbilt, East Carolina and Massachusetts by an average of 4.7 points. Tennessee still has a glimmer of hope, because its losses came to Texas A&M and Alabama. A loss to South Carolina would extinguish that.
New Mexico State over Texas A&M (Texas A&M 52, New Mexico State 10): Alabama hangover, anyone?