The Victors

The big question is what’s the pecking order in tier 2, which (again, fairly inarguably) is Michigan, PSU, and USC.

I think that USC and Michigan are both quite a bit more likely to be good enough to challenge for tier 1 status and a playoff berth than PSU is.

However, the difference in strength of conference schedule is massive.

PSU plays NONE of top tier teams. They play both of the other tier 2 teams, Michigan on the road and USC at home. They have a seriously weak schedule, both overall and conference.

We *absolutely must* beat PSU at home on 10/17. We are their toughest game of the year. It’s huge for Michigan’s bid to challenge the top three teams, but also huge for preventing PSU from weaseling their way into the conference championship game.