Don't forget about the Michigan Wolverines just yet in the College Football Playoff race.

One of several teams nationally trending up in recent weeks according to ESPN's Playoff eliminator, Jim Harbaugh's team is making a move in the right direction over their last three games since starting the season 0-1 and falling out of the Top 10.

And College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit has taken notice.

Asked what team nationally had a chance to reach the final four that no one was talking about this season, Herbstreit jumped on the Wolverines during Wednesday's appearance on SportsCenter.

"When you lose early, fans get frustrated and Michigan to me was that team in Week 1,” Herbstreit said. “They lost the game (to Notre Dame) and not only lost the game, they didn’t look very good on offense. Jim Harbaugh since then has gone to work after that disappointing loss in Week 1 … so don’t forget about Michigan."

Not only has Shea Patterson seemed to have found his comfort zone in Pep Hamilton's offense, but Michigan's bevy of talent at wide receiver is stepping up and Karan Higdon looks the part as one of the Big Ten's best ballcarriers.

In two starts since rushing for 72 yards on 21 carries in South Bend, Higdon has 292 yards on the ground on just 25 totes, an 11.7 yards per carry average. Michigan's first-team defense has given up only three touchdowns since the opener and the Wolverines have risen back to No. 14 in the AP Poll after falling outside the Top 15.

With nationally-ranked games remaining against Wisconsin, Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State, there's plenty of opportunity ahead to surge back into the national championship picture if the Wolverines stay healthy and execute at a consistent level.

Harbaugh was asked about his team's progress after four games earlier this week.

"Very good. I mean, I would (say) doing very well," Harbaugh said. "And then also, we want to improve everywhere. Every phase of our football, we’re still striving for improvement, and wanna see games, in all phases, including special teams. You could say they’re doing great, now if we could just block a field goal, or if we could continue to improve. So, at every phase of the football, including the offensive line, special teams, defense, we want to get better. We want to be better today than we were yesterday, be better tomorrow than we were today.”

Wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones is coming into his own as one of the league's top receiving threats and leads the team in receptions, yards and touchdowns.

“Yeah, he’s a great example of how much work the guys are putting in and how much it’s paying off," Harbaugh said. "He’s a prime example of that. Just every single day, he’s paying attention in meetings and you can’t ask for a better guy to coach. True gentleman and along those lines of Rashan, takes that same approach. His blocking has really been physical. Setting a great example and doing a fabulous job."

Michigan plays at Northwestern on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST on FOX. The Wolverines are a 14-point favorite over the Wildcats.