On January 8, 2024, the University of Michigan Wolverines beat the University of Washington Huskies 34-13 to secure the College Football Playoff National Championship. It was 12th National Championship and the first since 1997.
I should have written about it that evening or maybe the day. After a big win like this the would-be sports reporter in me should have jumped right at it acting as if a gruff cigar chomping editor from a black and white movie is barking at me for the copy. This time, for some reason, I did not jump on it. I savored the moment and thought I would get some perspective on it before I put finger to keyboard. The need to savor the moment was because I was sensing we are on the cusp of a new era in college football. In the almost three weeks since the National Championship game a lot has happened from regarding Michigan. Here is a short list from my perspective:
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Right after the National Championship, Nick Saban announced his retirement from Alabama. Washington's coach Kalen DeBoer was named as his replacement.
- A number of Michigan starters, including JJ McCarthy, opted for the NFL draft.
- Jim Harbaugh did his annual flirtation with the NFL causing nonstop speculative chatter on the social media fan pages about what might or might happen.
- Ohio State when shopping in NIL portal and signed four talented quarterbacks in the hopes that, in competing for the starting job, they would find someone who could beat Michigan and take them to the National Championship.
- They are so serious about the above point, they also got a new offensive coordinator from New England Patriots and Alabama before that.
- This year Harbaugh actually pulled the trigger and was announced as the head coach of the San Diego.
- Michigan just announced that they were promoting Sherrone Moore to replace Harbaugh.
- Shortly after that, Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, announced that he would be following Harbaugh to the Chargers.
- Now it looks like Mike Hart, Michigan's newly named offensive coordinator, is about to leave because he didn't get the head coaching job.
Whatever happened after, the 2023 Michigan Football season was a wonderful, a perfect 15-0. The defense was tough, hard-nosed, and stingy in the number of yards and points they allowed. The offense really turned it on in the last four games of Big 10 play. They beat Penn State, Maryland, Ohio State, and Iowa at the end of the regular season to win the third Big Ten Championship in a row and secure a #1 ranking heading into the National Championship Playoffs.
In the playoffs, we had to face a one loss Alabama in the Rose Bowl. Alabama was coming off a 27-24 win over Georgia in the SEC Championship. Their only loss in 2023 was a 34-24 loss against Texas who was pitted against Washington in the playoffs. The fan base, including me, was a bit apprehensive about playing Alabama because they had just beat Georgia, Saban was arguably the GOAT, our record against SEC teams was not the best, and simply it was Alabama. I covered this game and the overtime Michigan 27-20 win in a January 2nd post: The Rose Bowl.
In the other half of the College Football Playoff Bracket. The University of Washington and the University of Texas squared off against each other in the Sugar Bowl. I watched it, after the nerve-wracking Rose Bowl. While I thought Washington would win, I was not particularly in favor of either team. I was much calmer watching that game. It was an exciting game which I enjoyed watching. Texas kicked a field goal with 1:09 left in the game to make it 37-31 in favor of Washington. Texas tried an onside kick which Washington recovered and after a taking a few knees, the game was over.
Michigan was to play Washington on
January 8th in Houston. Michigan
was favored by a few. There was a lot of
hype about Washington’s powerhouse offense led by quarterback Michael
Penix. He was a great passer, accurate
and with a quick release. He first played
at Indiana from 2018-21. I remember watching
him when Michigan played Indiana. I
thought he was a very good quarterback and he impressed me when he was there. He
transferred to Washington for the 2022-23 seasons and took his game to another
level under head coach Kalen DeBoar. The Washington offensive line was something
special too. They received the Joe Moore
Award for being the best offensive line in the country. They only allowed 11 sacks for the entire
season. Michigan’s offensive line won
the award the previous two seasons.
Leading up to the game, I was more confident we would beat Washington than I was about beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl. I was certain Michigan would score on Washington. Our offense was pretty high-powered, and their defense was good but did give up points relying more on their offense to score a lot more points e.g. Texas scored 31 on them. The key to the game, in my mind, would come down to Michigan’s defense versus the vaunted Washington passing attack. Michigan had an awesome defense. I believed we would stop their running game and pressure Penix and disrupt his flow. We might not sack him a lot but we he would get hit and knocked down further disrupting his flow.
Just before the game started, I saw a graphic online that said “Defense wins games: Michigan is #2.” They listed the ranking of every Washington opponent. Oregon was the highest ranked defense they face at #65. This bit of data solidified my view and dang if it is not exactly what the Michigan defense went out and did. By the end of the game, Penix was visibly hurting, holding his side after every play. We held them to one touchdown and two field goals, 301 total yards (225 passing and 46 rushing), and we intercepted Penix twice.
Michigan’s offense saw something in their defensive scheme that they thought Donovan Edwards could exploit be bouncing outside and using his speed. He did that twice for 43 and 41 yards to give Michigan a 14-3 lead in the first quarter. Of Michigan’s 303 yards of rushing, 229 were in the first quarter. Washington adjusted and held Michigan to one field goal in each of the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Michigan scored two more touchdowns in the 4th quarter to seal the victory.
What an amazing season with some memorable players on both sides of the ball: Blake Corum, JJ McCarthy, Mike Sainristil, Zak Zinter, Will Johnson, Junior Colson, Roman Wilson, Colson Loveland, Kenneth Grant, and Mason Graham to name a few.
It was a season to remember.
Go Blue!
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