Rooting interests this weekend based on CFP Ranking?

Alabama to knock out LSU.

northwestern to beat Nd. (Michigan lost to Nd week 1, but if we want Nd to lose this would be it aginst a common opponent)

michigan must beat penn state! 

If it did play out like this...Michigan would be ranked 3.

Rooting interests are always 1.  Michigan, 2.  Whoever is playing tOSU, 3.  Whoever is playing Sparty, 4.  Whoever is playing Notre Dame.

Just win out and things will take care of themselves.  Start by beating Penn State.

No I don’t want OSU to win out. If they lose before Nov. 24 and we beat PSU the division is basically ours already. 

Obviously we need to win out.  However, I think we need to keep the number one ranked defense.

If we are 12-1, BigTen champs, and have the best defense I think the committee will give us a playoff spot.

I may be a fool, but if we are the best defense that is a major bonus in a championship selection process that will get pointed out and carry weight.  Plus we are a huge TV draw.

If ND loses any of their remaining games they are pretty much toast. If we go 12-1 it will outweigh their 11-1. The committee will not keep us out for ND for a loss in the first week of September. Especially if ND loses to USC. That would mean in the last two weeks of the season we beat OSU in the shoe and won our conference championship. There will be no debate

In terms of Playoff chances for Michigan (12-1), it would be helpful if Bama wins out.

In terms of National Championship chances for Michigan (12-1), it would be best for Bama to somehow not make the playoff at 11-1. I don't see Michigan hanging with Bama, but I could see them hanging with UGA, Clem, ND, OU, LSU, etc

We want Bama to win out.  A 1 loss Bama team is going to be in the playoff, period.

M

I’d rather not have to worry about ND. If they lose to NW, that would help us. A 12-1 big ten champ may not get in over 12-0 ND if they played head to head. But a 12-1 big ten champ gets in over an 11-1 ND. 

In a Perfect world? 

Alabama @ LSU - Alabama loses. Wins their remaining games and sees LSU lose to A&M in their final game. Alabama makes it to the SEC championship game and loses to UGA. UGA In.

Notre Dame @ Northwestern - Notre Dame. 12-0, they stay as the #2 Seed. Notre Dame In. 

Georgia @ Kentucky - Georgia to win and then win out. Georgia defeats Alabama in the SEC Conference Championship game. Georgia In.

Michigan wins out and comes in @ #4. 

1 Clemson v 4 Michigan

2 Notre Dame v 3 Georgia

Michigan defeats Clemson in an upset. 

Notre Dame defeats Georgia in a rematch from last year. 

Michigan completes the Revenge Tour of 2018 beating Notre Dame and taking home the National Championship.

That is a no brainer.  Need Bama to beat LSU soundly and ND over Northwestern in a close game (just in case Northwestern is the West division winner we play in the B1G title game).  

Yes, we want every other team that UM has defeated to win and every team that UM is going to play in the future to win. Strength of schedule comes from your opponents' records, plain and simple.

Always root for OSU to lose.  Always root for ND to lose (adjustments allowed if either team is playing MSU and you hate them more).  Not worth worrying about the rest of it, too many games still to play.  If we win out, we are going to the playoff.  If we lose a game, we are not going to the playoff, so there really is only one thing to watch.

This was a very thoughtful post. That's not sarcasm - I can tell you're a very logical fan. 

I really wish ND gets left out at 11-1 and we get put in at 12-1. Join a conference you supremecist assholes!

Notre Dame losing (and us winning out of course) makes our path to the CFP easier.

So does Alabama beating LSU, although I can't actively root for Bama because my wife and her family are LSU alums and fans.

clemson is amazing, their schedule is such a gauntlet, how many teams they beat are in the top 25 NOW..not top 25 three weeks ago, NOW?  Hmmm.

I only root for Mich in & Osu out. 

If we get Osu fan refs in Columbus this year & get jobbed again - don't want snake Meyer lobbying his way in. Chaos is bad in that aspect Imo.

Mich wins out - they're in. 

I'm a big Scott Frost fan this weekend & Mike Dantoni fan next weekend. 

And I want to see Psu pummeled this weekend like in '16.

I'm rooting for Vandy to beat their bye week.

Honestly don't care about any other situation or even the playoffs at this time. Enjoying the next game is Paramount to me.

Obviously, any loss probably ends ND's chances, but the best thing that can happen for Michigan this weekend is for LSU to beat Alabama. That eliminates the possibility of the SEC having two teams finish at 12-1. Michigan at 12-1 won't get left out over an 11-1 team that didn't win its division, even if that team is Alabama.

Bama to win big over LSU and Georgia in the SEC champ game. Need LSU and Georgia our of the way. 

Northwestern: don’t care about “good loss,” just need ND to lose late in the season. 

Also, need Oklahoma to slip up, so definitely rooting for WV or any of OK’s opponents. 

Clemson and Bama are already in the CFP, based on 1. ESPN’s continuous orgasm over Saban and Tua, and 2. Clemson has played no one and will never play anyone decent until the playoffs. (FYI: it’s a crime that Clemson’s ridiculous schedule is allowed to get any team into the playoffs. They might as well be a group of 5 team). 

We just need ND, LSU, and Georgia to give us some space. None of this matters if we don’t finish with wins in every game, though. 

Bama going undefeated is probably best for Michigan, since it guarantees that any SEC non-champ will have at least two losses and be left out, and maybe opens up a scenario where M can afford a loss to PSU and still sneak into the CFP.

But which of the following SEC scenarios do we worry about most:

1) Bama beats LSU, but loses the SEC title game close to one loss Georgia. LSU wins out.

2) Bama loses to LSU then both teams win out 

I’m pretty positive 12-1, B1G champ Michigan hops 11-1 non-champ Bama. But if Bama is 12-1 with a win over a good LSU, there might be arguments that Bama should get another chance. That’s honestly the only way I see the SEC getting two teams in over any one loss P5 champ. I don’t think they actually would put Bama over 12-1 M in that scenario, but ess-ee-see man. I could definitely see them leaving out a one loss Oklahoma or ND in that scenario.

I actually kind of like Bama losing Saturday. Yeah, at that point they’d likely win out, but I think that’s the most likely way Bama gets left home from the CFP, and I’d much rather not have to face Bama in the CFP. 

The worst case scenario is Alabama losing to LSU.  An 11-1 Alabama team that doesn't play in the SEC championship game probably gets in.  The loser of the Georgia-Kentucky game is out.  If Michigan goes 12-1, and Alabama loses in the SEC championship game, Michigan gets in.

I would think we want Notre Dame to win out.  An 11-1 Notre Dame team that beat Michigan head to head is a scenario that I don't care to see.

We want OU to lose.

We want WSU to lose.

We want Ohio State to lose this week.

What I'd personally like to see:
 - LSU absolutely mangle Bama because they have an off-night and Tua throws like four picks including a pick-6.  Basically the wheels coming off their train as opposed to LSU influencing it.
 - NW taking out ND.  THWND.
 - Kentucky squeaking by Georgia in like four OTs with a controversial call deciding it.
 - Then the cherry on top...  Texas Tech remembers who they used to be and takes down Oklahoma.

Yeah, very tall order.  One can dream.  :)
(OSU/Neb...  the Huskers are doomed - the Buckeyes had two weeks to stew over that loss, never a good sign for the next opponent)

 Just pull for Michigan, nothing else matters. If Michigan wins out, no way they keep a 1 loss B1G champ out ( not to mention their only loss is to the current number 3).

 I do want to rant a little bit though. A few weeks back Oregon beat Washington, during the broadcast, one of the announcers says, the pac 12 is pretty much done as far as the CFP goes. The reason ( he presumed Oregon would win the Pac-12) was how soft Oregon's non-conference schedule was. I just wondered have they looked at Alabama's non-conference schedule... or alabama's schedule period? Have they looked at Clemson's schedule? Clemson has a shot to make the CFP without beating a single top 25 team at season's end. How can you rank UCF at 9 because of a soft schedule and close win but, rank Clemson 2nd with just as soft of a schedule and a close win?

We want an undefeated Bama for sure. Dont want the committee to have to decide between 1-loss Bama and 1-loss Michigan if someone other than Bama wins the SEC Championship. I think we would deserve to get in in that scenario (assuming win out) but I dont want that in the committee's hands. 

I want ND to win so Michigan can beat them in the championship game rematch!  

"Rooting Interest"?

Since you covered 1, 2, &3, which are basically the best answers to your question...

Can't ever go wrong rooting against ND or OSU (or MSU or PSU). If you even approach convincing yourself otherwise, you're just thinking too hard.

Other than that, always root for the underdog. It's generally the funnest rooting in sports. You don't feel devastated if they lose, and it's definitely much more thrilling when they do win, as opposed to when a favorite does.

This is sports. Don't over-complicate it. Have fun.

The nightmare scenario for the CFP is Clemson wins out, ND wins out, and LSU wins out, but that is just not very likely.

However, we definitely want OSU to lose. We can worry about the CFP if we actually manage to win out, for now it's been quite awhile since we won the Big Ten.

A lot of football to be played. For the long run, college football and Michigan will be strengthened when Alabama and Ohio State lose. So it is hard to root for them in almost any scenario.

Whatever happens as far as they are concerned, Michigan has to continue to get a lot better and more consistent offensively running the ball and becoming more dangerous in the passing game, and get more consistency out of field goal kicking as well to do well in the post season and call itself "elite" once more.

 

Bama to win, this week and win out.

ND loss, First game loss on the road to ND and we lost by 7. I twill free up one playoff spot.

OU to lose to OK st.

Michigan to win out and beat NU again in the B1G championship game, the team that beat ND.

Why is everyone so damn convinced that because 11-1 Bama jumped 11-2 OSU last year, 11-1 Bama would jump 12-1 Michigan this year? I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. 

Only upside of Bama going undefeated is that it gives the SEC losers 2 losses each and 11-2 B1G champ might be enough to get in. Upside of Bama losing on Saturday is Bama might be out of the playoff.