Who Should Michigan Fans Root for In CFP Final Four?

After such a tumultuous season, the Michigan Wolverines finished on a strong note with wins over Ohio State and Alabama. Now they look ahead to 2025 hoping to return to form with some momentum carryover.

But of course, this season still isn't over - and plenty of football fans in the state of Michigan are hyped for postseason play collegiately and professionally.

While most of those fans will be rooting for the Detroit Lions in the NFL Playoffs, it's slim pickings for a favorite in the College Football Playoff.

Three of the final four teams are a rival of Michigan's in some manner while the fourth is a team that has never lost to the Maize and Blue and, in fact, throttled the Wolverines earlier this year.

Sure, Michigan fans, you could hate-watch the last three games of college football this season - but the reality is that all four teams can't lose. Someone has to win, so who should you root for to win it all?

Let's get the biggest obvious conclusion out of the way. There isn't a soul who wears blue or green in the fall rooting for the Ohio State Buckeyes to win anything, let alone a national championship. Sure, if Ohio State wins it all then Ryan Day keeps his job - which could mean another win for the Wolverines next November. But that's really just a meme, and not something anyone should seriously put stock into.

As for the Texas Longhorns, as mentioned, Michigan has never beaten them and a rocky 2024 season got started with an ugly 31-12 home loss to Quinn Ewers and company. There's not exactly a ton of bad blood here, but it's not as though it makes up for what Texas did to Michigan this year.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are as much of a media darling as ever, leaning on a Rudy-esque underdog story. Still, there's a stiff rivalry there in which Michigan carries a bit of a big-brother vibe. After all, Notre Dame football got its start with Ann Arbor roots.

Finally, there's the Penn State Nittany Lions, who are likely the biggest underdogs as their two playoff wins aren't quite as impressive as the other three teams. Michigan and Penn State have a good rivalry as well, though Michigan tends to dominate it for longer stretches. Still, there isn't nearly as much hate for this Big Ten rival as That Team Down South.

So who do you choose?

The choice is ultimately yours to make and there's only one wrong answer. In that case, you're rooting for an underdog since, to be fair, the Buckeyes have looked near-unstoppable in the playoffs so far.

I'd also argue against Texas. Being from SEC country myself, the Big Ten country schools need to capitalize and keep Texas away from the hardware. Even with just one season in the SEC, those fans would love nothing more than to crush the flushed narrative currently surrounding the conference with a Texas national championship - and they don't even like Texas.

The biggest underdogs are Notre Dame and Penn State, and not just for this year's outcomes alone. The Nittany Lions haven't won a national championship in 38 years while the Irish are looking to end a 35-year wait.

If you want to root for a Big Ten school to reign supreme, Penn State should be your choice. They're a bit pluckier than the other three schools, carrying the monumental weight of a singular chip on their shoulder that has long said James Franklin can't win big games.

There isn't much of a case for Notre Dame, other than cheering on your little brother. Notre Dame following Michigan's national championship season with one of their own would be a touch poetic, especially after such long championship droughts from both programs beforehand. Since the rivalry was "ended", there's not much room for smack talk until the teams meet again, either in a future playoff setting or for their scheduled contest in 2033.

Either way, Notre Dame or Penn State would be the team holding the opportunity to beat either Ohio State or the last SEC team standing. So, for Michigan fans, rooting for the winner of the Orange Bowl might not be a bad idea.