On Monday, Jan. 8, Michigan defeated Washington in the final College Football Playoff National Championship. Michigan won by a score of 34-13.
This year’s final was held in NRG Stadium in Houstoun, Texas. The one seed Michigan defeated the four seed Alabama 27-20 in the first semifinal game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The two seed Washington defeated the three seed Texas 37-31 in the second semifinal game in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana. Both teams had a record of 14-0 entering Monday’s game.
Michigan used their potent running attack to dominate the final quarter. Although running backs Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum combined for 4 touchdowns and 238 rushing yards, quarterback J.J. McCarthy wasn’t a huge factor as he went 10/18 passing for 140 yards passing and 31 yards rushing. This style of play is typical to what we have seen from Michigan all year. Throughout the 2023-2024 season, Michigan has leaned on running backs Corum and Edwards, and given McCarthy a limited role in the offense.
Washington’s offense never seemed to click like they did against Texas in the semifinal game. Additionally, Michigan’s secondary seemed to confuse Washington’s quarterback Michael Penix Jr., picking off the senior QB twice. Despite Penix’s two interceptions, he threw for 255 yards and a touchdown. Washington only had 46 rushing yards, while Penix had 51 passing attempts. Throughout the whole game, the whole offense ran through the left arm of Penix, while ultimately putting a ton of pressure on the quarterback. Ultimately, it was Washington’s failure to establish an effective running game that cost them.
Entering the 4th quarter, it was a close game at 20-13 with Washington up by a touchdown. Michigan scored a TD on a very key drive taking it 71 yards in 5 plays to extend the score to 27-13 with 9:44 to play. On a very important drive towards the end of the 4th quarter, Penix threw a key INT with 7:09 left. This INT basically sealed up the game for Washington.
This milestone for Michigan is massive for the program because their win in the Rose Bowl against Alabama was their first bowl game win in the last 6 years, and the national championship was their first since 1997. This championship solidifies Michigan as a college football powerhouse again and makes them a serious contender for next year’s championship.
