Will Michigan’s bully ball or Washington’s explosive offense prevail in national championship game?

No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 2 Washington for it all. Ah, Big Ten tradition. Pause to absorb the sarcasm.

Turns out the matchup in the final four-team College Football Playoff National Championship is also a window on our times. Following Monday’s clash in Houston, the Wolverines and will play in the same conference beginning next season.

More than that, nine months from now, Washington will host Michigan as Big Ten “rivals” on Oct. 5in Husky Stadium. Just months after deciding to join the Big Ten, all the Huskies did is win the final Pac-12 championship and advance all the way to the national title game for the first time. Washington officially joins its new conference on July 1.

Got all that? Realignment is the gift that keeps on giving.

The matchup should also please the football gods. It features the CFP’s top two seeds and the only undefeated teams remaining. The game is heavy with storylines: The nation’s best defense (Michigan) against the nation’s best passing offense (Washington). The game’s quirkiest coach (Jim Harbaugh) against the game’s third-winningest active coach (Kalen DeBoer, who won 82% of his FBS games).

Both quarterbacks — Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. (at Indiana) — have plenty of Big Ten experience. The Wolverines’ best wide receiver (Roman Wilson) is from Hawaii (Roman Wilson), while the Huskies’ best pass catcher (Rome Odunze) is from another planet leading the country in receiving.

If Michigan gives up less than a touchdown in the game, it will become the first team since 2011 to average less than 10 points per game. Good luck with that against a Washington offense that averages more than 40 points per game. If it wins, Washington would be far and away the “worst” defense to win a…

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Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2024-01-02 22:33:48

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