On Jan. 8, Michigan became the second Big Ten program to win a College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship, defeating Washington 34 to 13. This year was marked by controversy and adversity for Michigan football, as they had their head coach suspended for three games due to alleged NCAA violations. However, this adversity motivated Michigan to break through to the National Championship Game for the first time and win. Yet, Michigan wasn’t alone in the controversy.
Before the playoffs even began, debates over who should make the tournament broke out. Michigan — undefeated Big Ten Champions — and Washington — undefeated Pac-12 Champions — were easy choices for the top two seeds in the bracket. Unfortunately, the decision for the final two spots was not as simple. The four teams in contention were undefeated ACC Champions Florida State (FSU), 1-loss SEC Champions Alabama, 1-loss Big 12 Champions Texas (who beat Alabama) and two-time defending National Champions Georgia who lost for the first time in three seasons against Alabama in the SEC Championship.
The committee decided that the team with the best resume wasn’t playoff material due to some combination of a weak ACC and an injured starting QB, leaving FSU out. This choice made the final two spots self-explanatory through head-to-head matchups. The committee was obligated to leave out arguably the best team in the country, Georgia, choosing Alabama and Texas. Many consider FSU being left out to be one of the biggest travesties in the history of the CFP, reminding fans why the CFP is adding eight additional playoff teams next year.
Nonetheless, the CFP began on New Year’s Day, with two semifinal games: the Rose Bowl between no. 1 Michigan and no. Alabama and the Sugar Bowl between no. 2 Washington and no. 3 Texas. The Rose Bowl, the most iconic and historic game in College Football, was the first of the two and did not disappoint, becoming the most-watched college game of the season.
The game started after a muffed punt led to an Alabama touchdown. However, things quickly turned around for Michigan as they dominated statistically and took a 13-10 lead into halftime. Alabama eventually broke through, leading to a 20-13 score with just 4:41 left. Michigan’s offense had struggled throughout the second half, but quarterback J.J. McCarthy led a clutch 75-yard drive to send the Rose Bowl to overtime. In overtime, Michigan got the ball first and scored on just the second play. The game came down to a fourth and goal where Alabama power-running quarterback Jalen Milroe was stuffed as Michigan rushed the field, winning 27-20.
In the Sugar Bowl, Washington and Texas exchanged blows throughout the first half as the game seemed to be a complete shootout. However, Washington took control of the game in the second half and was up 13 in the fourth. However, Texas found a groove defensively, and with just 1:09 left in the game, the score was 31-37. Texas failed to recover an onside kick, and the game was seemingly over. Yet, an injury gave Texas the extra timeout they needed. Despite seeming out of the game on multiple occasions, Texas had the ball at the Washington 13-yard line with one last shot at the end zone to win the game. Nonetheless, Washington held on, and Texas’s miraculous comeback fell just short of College Football history.
After all the excitement of the semi-finals, the championship game was a letdown as Michigan completely dominated Washington on both sides of the ball. Washington quarterback Michael Penix came back down to earth after his 430-yard performance against Texas, throwing two interceptions and being sacked six times. On the other hand, Michigan became the first team to have two rushers go over 100 yards in the National Championship as Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards led the way to Michigan’s 34-13 win with a record-breaking 303 yards and four combined touchdowns on the ground.
This season was special for Michigan for many reasons. From the adversity they faced losing their coach and the creation of their rallying slogans to Blake Corum breaking the Michigan record for career touchdowns, from a class of Michigan players who could’ve left for the NFL after 2022 but returned after losing in the CFP last year to Michigan becoming the first program to reach 1,000 wins, this year will go down in the university’s history as one of their best. Michigan proved that nobody’s got it better than them as they got win number 1,004 over Washington.
