ESPN slots undefeated 2023 Michigan just outside top four CFP teams

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Many go through the mental exercise of trying to figure out which national champion was the best, often comparing one year to another, fruitlessly going through gymnastics to prove their own was better than a rival.

And ESPN is apparently no different.

Now that the 2025 season has concluded with a seemingly improbable national championship for Indiana, ESPN resident advanced stats guru Bill Connelly ranked all 64 College Football Playoff teams, and the 2023 national champion Wolverines came in ranked No. 5 — one spot behind the Hoosiers.

5. 2023 Michigan (15-0)CFP result: Beat Alabama 27-20 in semifinal; beat Washington 34-13 in national championship

The Wolverines beat Penn State and Ohio State without suspended head coach Jim Harbaugh, and even with off-field matters swirling in the background, they were rarely challenged on the field, winning 11 games by at least 21 points. They extended their Big Ten winning streak to 25 games, they handed Nick Saban a Rose Bowl loss in his final game as a head coach, and with the national title on the line, they put on a defensive clinic. They dominated a brilliant Washington offensive line, holding the prolific Huskies to just 301 total yards and rolling to their first national title in 26 years.

2020 Alabama was No. 1, 2019 LSU was No. 2, and 2022 Georgia was No. 3 — each of the top six teams (including 2018 Clemson) was undefeated. Despite a lot of bellyaching in Columbus after Ohio State's 2024 national championship (which their fans claim is the best of all time), the Buckeyes from that year (which lost to unranked Michigan) came in ranked No. 10.

2022 Michigan, which lost to TCU, was ranked No. 26, and 2021 Michigan was ranked No. 42. Rival Michigan State's sole appearance in 2015 was ranked 57th out of 64 teams.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: ESPN ranks 2023 Michigan among top five CFP teams of playoff era

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