Michigan Football: 3 takeaways from Big Ten blowout of Maryland

1. Does Michigan still have legitimate New Year’s Six hopes?

After improving to 7-2 in 2019, Michigan still kept alive their chances of a 10-win season in Ann Arbor. They also kept their slim hopes of a Big Ten championship alive with the win, though they need both Penn State and Ohio State to lose two games in division play to put a three-way tiebreaker into effect that leans Michigan’s way (or for Penn State to lose three games but defeat Ohio State, an even more implausible set of circumstances).

Without a Big Ten championship, it is highly unlikely that the College Football Playoff is still in play for the Wolverines. But if Jim Harbaugh’s team happened to run the table against Michigan State, Indiana, and Ohio State, it is entirely possible that a 10-2 Michigan side could claim a spot in one of the New Year’s Six bowls.

For Michigan, the best possible scenario is probably Penn State running the table and setting up the game against Ohio State as a play-in game to replace the Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl. If the Rose Bowl is not in play because the Big Ten East cannibalized itself too much, a spot in the Orange Bowl as the rotational pick among the Big Ten, SEC, and Notre Dame or a draw against the Group of Five champion in the Cotton Bowl are both possibilities.

As dead in the water as Michigan looked in their losses against Wisconsin and Penn State, there is still plenty to play for this season in Ann Arbor.