Michigan given slim odds to win the Big Ten amidst QB controversy

Michigan football is off to a 3-1 start but it’s not how college football fans and media pundits had intended.

The Wolverines are fresh off of winning a national championship behind a boatload of eventual NFL talent, including rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Unfortunately, McCarthy left for the pros with no backup plan in place from Jim Harbaugh; who left Ann Arbor for the NFL after a College Football Playoff championship.

In doing so, the Wolverines had several options at quarterback, but through four weeks, it appears they have found their answer in junior Alex Orji.

Orji replaced Davis Warren, a former walk-on who was less-than-stellar through three games and threw three interceptions in the Wolverines’ 28-18 win against Arkansas State in Ann Arbor.

Last week, Orji and the Wolverines fended off a late USC surge and won the game on the final drive thanks to a two-yard touchdown scamper. The win was good enough to keep Michigan inside the nation’s top 15, as it enters Week 5 at No. 12 and hosts Minnesota on Saturday.

Despite Michigan’s schedule ramping up over the next month with games against Washington, Illinois, and Michigan State, it still has an inside track to win the Big Ten and make another College Football Playoff appearance under the expanded format model.

College Football Network likes Michigan Wolverines' slim playoff margins

Given Michigan lost to newly minted No. 1 Texas earlier this month, College Football Network is giving it a chance to win the Big Ten and make the playoffs. However, the margins are slim.

According to their self-made College Football Playoff meter, Michigan sits in fourth place behind Penn State, Ohio State, and Oregon to make a run. It isn’t by much, however. Even with Michigan’s remaining schedule, CFN pegs a 10.63 percent chance of it happening. The Wolverines face Oregon at home on November 2 in a potential elimination game for the conference title. They end the season with Ohio State, which Michigan has gotten the better of in recent years.

The season is still early, so a lot can change. But, for now, Michigan faces an uphill climb.

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