It's Week 11 of the season, and we might finally get to see how good the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines are, as they will be playing their first ranked opponent in the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions. Every other team in the top four of the College Football Playoff rankings has played at least two ranked opponents already. (The No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs will play their third ranked team this weekend.)
While Michigan is embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal, it hasn't faced any sort of challenge on the field. The Wolverines have allowed more than 10 points just twice this season, and they have scored more than 30 points in every game. While Penn State has already lost to the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes, it can still find itself back in the Big Ten championship race with an outside shot at the playoff.
According to the Allstate Playoff Predictor, this game has the highest adjust playoff leverage of any game remaining this season. If Michigan beats the Lions, it will have a 70% chance to reach the CFP and a 56% chance to win the Big Ten East, and Ohio State's chances to win the division will fall to 44%. If the Wolverines lose, their playoff chances will drop to 18%, while Penn State's will rise to 42%, and Ohio State will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Big Ten East (66%) ahead of Penn State (27%) and Michigan (8%).
In the ACC, the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals continue their surprise run to the conference championship game, hosting the Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN), while the No. 4 Florida State Seminoles, who have already clinched a trip to the ACC title game, host their in-state rivals, the Miami Hurricanes.
ESPN insiders Heather Dinich and Adam Rittenberg break down these matchups, while also looking at the job Jeff Brohm has done with the Cardinals, and check in on potential hot seats and how the Ole Miss Rebels could upset Georgia.
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Michigan-Penn State keys | Rating first-year coaches
Ole Miss improvements | Status of Miami-FSU
New hot seat coach | Upset picks | Emptying the notebook
