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HOUSTON, Tx. — After years and years of hand-wringing, underachievement, close calls, questionable plays, and disappointing seasons, Michigan football is finally one game away from winning a national championship for the first time since 1997. It will face off against a hungry Washington team that hasn’t won it all since 1991, when the Huskies were in their heyday. Both teams have a lot going for them, but anything can happen in a one-game scenario.
The maize and blue are favored, but such was the case last year in the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl against TCU. Weird things can happen once the ball is kicked off, and Michigan is hoping to build off the momentum of beating an Alabama team that many thought would take down the Wolverines.
Though Michigan is favored, as said, a lot of pundits are wide-eyed at Michael Penix Jr. and the Washington pass game. While games aren’t played on paper, we’re giving you six reasons why the Wolverines will emerge as the 2023 national champions.
Washington hasn’t seen a defense like this
Photo: Isaiah Hole
As much as the Husky offense is touted, the Pac-12 (nor Big 12 CFP semifinalist Texas) is not a league of defensive juggernauts. Yes, Oregon is good under Dan Lanning, ranked highly, but this Michigan football defense is No. 1 in the country — for a reason.
It could be conversely said that Michigan hasn’t seen an offense as potent as Washington’s (which is accurate) but the defense, coordinated by Jesse Minter, was formulated for facing such a task as the Huskies. Originally built by Mike Macdonald in 2021, the defense’s sole goal was to be able to take down an Ohio State team with the most prolific passing offense in the country. And the past three years, mission accomplished. In fact, in the two years with CJ Stroud at the helm, the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/six-reasons-michigan-football-win-023902755.html
Author : Wolverines Wire
Publish date : 2024-01-06 02:39:02
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