Did Warde Manuel’s absence impact Michigan football ranking?

Earlier this week, U-M athletic director Warde Manuel announced that he would miss this week’s College Football Playoff committee meeting in favor of staying in Ann Arbor to focus on the NCAA investigation into the sign-stealing scandal. Today, the new CFP rankings were released, with Michigan football (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) staying at No. 3 nationally heading into this weekend’s game at No. 10 Penn State. After the rankings were released, committee chair Boo Corrigan answered a few top questions, including whether or not Manuel’s absence impacted Michigan’s standing or ranking this week.

Did Warde Manuel absence impact Michigan football ranking?

The College Football Playoff committee seems to be standing its ground that, until the NCAA does something about the Michigan football sign-stealing scandal, they will continue to rank the Wolverines based on resume and body of work and nothing else.

This week, Warde Manuel announced in a statement that he planned to miss the CFP committee meeting in favor of staying in Ann Arbor to work through the investigations and headlines surrounding the Michigan football program amid the sign-stealing scandal. Did that impact Michigan?

“Before I take your questions, I want to let the group know that Warde Manuel was not able to join us this week,” Boo Corrigan said after the newest CFP rankings were unveiled this evening. “This had no impact on the work of the selection committee. This is not the first time we’ve had a person miss a meeting, nor will it be the last. It just kind of happens.”

Corrigan added that, until the NCAA takes action or has an official stance, the College Football Playoff committee will continue to see the sign-stealing issue as an NCAA matter, not a CFP issue.

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