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The Michigan Wolverines were on a mission all season long, and they found a way to accomplish their goal on Monday night. In a year where the head coach was suspended for three games on two separate occasions, Michigan claimed its first national championship since 1997 with a 34-14 victory over Washington on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game. Michigan completed a perfect 15-0 season and handed the Huskies their first loss of the season.
As a Penn State fan sitting and watching from afar, it is a bit difficult to stomach seeing Michigan celebrate a national championship, this year in particular, but it commands respect for Jim Harbaugh and the entire program to a certain degree. After getting bounced from the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons in the semifinal round, Michigan made no secret it was setting its sights on getting past that semifinal hurdle and preparing to win it all this season. Georgia may have been Michigan’s primary target overall, but the Wolverines built an identity that nobody was going to stand in their way of winning the school’s first national championship of the BCS and College Football Playoff era.
In a way, Michigan’s national championship run brings the new era of college football’s postseason full circle. It was the split national championship in 1997 between Michigan and Nebraska that fueled the creation of the Bowl Championship series to avoid any future split national championships. Penn State fans from the time will make note that the Big Ten media voters slanted way more in favor of Nebraska in 1994 than they did in 1997, of course, but that’s another story for another day. Ever since the creation of the BCS, which led to the evaluation of the College Football Playoff, Michigan has stumbled trying to get back to the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigan-wins-national-championship-103936108.html
Author : Nittany Lions Wire
Publish date : 2024-01-09 10:39:36
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