According to College Football Playoff committee chairman Boo Corrigan, the CFP selection team doesn't see it as their role to address Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal when it ranks the Wolverines.
As the NCAA probe into Michigan enters its third week, Corrigan indicated Tuesday that the committee did not factor in the NCAA investigation when it ranked the Wolverines No. 3 overall behind Ohio State and Georgia. It won't influence the committee in the future, either, Corrigan said.
“Our job, as we look at it, is to rank the teams and to follow our protocols,” he explained. “As we went through it, that wasn’t part of any of the discussions that occurred during our time together.”
Corrigan continued, explaining that the investigation is an NCAA matter, not one the College Football Playoff committee needs to address. He reiterated the committee's focus was to produce a ranking of the top 25 teams after nine weeks in 2023, an exercise he and the selection team believe had to include the Wolverines.
“We really view it as it's an NCAA issue, not a CFP issue. At this point in time, as we’re looking at this, we want to make sure we get not just the top four teams but the top 25 teams right,” Corrigan said.
In a Zoom press conference with college football reporters, CFP executive director Bill Hancock echoed Corrigan's sentiments. When asked if the CFP committee can call Michigan "dominant" amid the NCAA's investigation, Hancock said the selection team will rank teams based on-field outcomes and not allegations.
"Michigan has played well all season," Hancock said. "The fact of the matter is no one knows what happened. We’re dealing right now – the NCAA is dealing right now with allegations only. The committee makes its judgments based on what happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team."
