Despite beating Ohio State for the first time since 2003, Michigan dropped a spot in the BCS rankings.
This week, the Wolverines rank in at #16 for the BCS, #17 in the AP and #16 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
In terms of the BCS standings, by rule only the top 14 teams are eligible to get an at-large bid for a BCS bowl game if they do not win their conference championship games.
So with that said, Michigan is going to need some help.
Some of that help already came when Wisconsin was able to beat Penn State to go to the Big Ten Championship game against Michigan State. Now if Wisconsin were to beat the Spartans who currently sit at 10-2 (7-1 in the Big Ten) than Michigan may be the most logical choice in terms of an at-large from the Big Ten. Furthermore, Michigan may also get some help if Oklahoma State were to beat Oklahoma.
Now beyond all of that, there of course is also going to be an argument coming from the other BCS conferences in terms of why their teams should get at-large bids. However the SEC will probably have two teams in the National Championship game in LSU and Alabama while the Pac-12 really doesn’t viable at-large bid. The same can also be said about the ACC, Big 12 and Big East.
Michigan is a team that can attract a national audience and is quite frankly an exciting team to watch. Not to mention that the NCAA and BCS has probably been itching at the opportunity to get Michigan back on a national stage.
Ref: ESPN, Detroit Free Press, Bleacher Report,
