Michigan football. In the playoffs -- for now

You could almost see the proverbial handwriting on the wall. Michigan, ranked #5, was going to move into the magical top four when the day was over.

Dispatching (and avenging last year's loss) Penn State in their Big House by the tune of 42-7 was quite an impressive show. Sort of. The Nittany Lions were obviously over-matched and UM still runs the same boring offensive plays, blows time-outs for no good reason, takes way too many stupid penalties, and lacks a decent place kicker. Just the usual for the Wolverines.

But their defense is pretty good. So far, against the teams they've faced to date, none of which has been particularly stalwart. Save the opener against Notre Dame -- which they lost.

Yet other things fell in place for them. Predictably, #1 Alabama not only defeated Louisiana State -- but thrashed them 29-0 -- on the road no less. The former #3 Tigers will certainly fall in the rankings, especially with this being their second loss.

Yep, #2 Clemson absolutely pummeled a hapless Louisville team 77-16. SEVENTY SEVEN POINTS? Wow. Yours truly can't remember ANY team scoring more than that. Needless to say, their #2 ranking remains safe.

#4 Notre Dame managed to get by an unranked and pretty much blah Northwestern team 31-21. But it's Notre Dame. Any excuse to keep them alive for the playoffs will do, and after all, it was a win.

So add it all up and what do you have?

Michigan is now in the top four -- or at least should be.

Next, they face lowly Rutgers on the road, then back home for always patsy Indiana. If the Wolverines can keep away from their sometimes nasty habit of dropping a game they should otherwise win handily, it will set up the biggie.

Ohio State on the road, Nov. 24.

True, the Buckeyes themselves have already blown their playoff chances. Once mega-stud defensive lineman Joey Bosa took a midseason hike to prepare for the draft (has anybody ever done that before?) the wheels seemed to come off. How else to explain the beat-down they took at Purdue? Four touchdowns worth? To the Boilermakers? Ouch, Urban Meyer. That had to smart.

And the Buckeyes had their hands full with mediocre at best Nebraska, before finally escaping with a ho-hum 31-21 win. Didn't matter. After the Purdue fiasco, OSU is a non-factor, except for...

The Michigan game. No matter what else has happened, you just know the Buckeyes will be sky high and geeked when the Wolverines come to town.

And Jim Harbaugh has never beaten Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes.

If the Maize/Blue crowd wants a shot at the big dance, this is the game they absolutely have to win. Their big chance at potential glory -- or at least a spot in the national semi-finals. The odds of them knocking off either Bama or Clemson at that point would appear to be mighty slim, at best. But first things first.

It will be a tall order in Columbus.

When it rolls around in three weeks, we shall see.