Michigan’s punishing running game and swarming defense ended in a 34-13 victory over Washington in the College Football Playoff final at NRG Stadium in Houston on Monday night.
The game was billed as a battle between Michegan’s vaunted defense, ranked No. 1 in the nation, against Washigton’s Heisman Trophy-finalist Michael Penix Jr.
The Wolverines pressured Penix all night and forced two interceptions, while Michigan running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards rushed for 134 and 104 yards, respectively, each scoring two touchdowns.
“There are over 100 Michigan men that are on this team, in uniform tonight,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said on the trophy presentation stage. “What they’ve done for the last 372 days is amazing. We’re champions, simply known as national champions.”
The victory capped a turbulent 15-0 season with Michigan accused of hatching a massive sign-stealing scheme which led to a brief suspension of Harbaugh late in the campaign.
Goodbye college football 2023-24, see you in August
And that's a wrap on college football for this historic season.
Kickoff times have not been set yet, but the likely first game of the 2024-25 campaign will be a Week 0 contest between Florida State and Georgia Tech in Dublin on Aug. 24.
A title-game rematch, with all sorts of new faces, will be a Big Ten game as Michigan visits Washington on Oct. 5 in Seattle.
The next CFP final is set for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Coach reminds 14-1 Huskies to be proud of themselves
Washington coach Kalen DeBoer faced a locker room of tearful players and implored them to take pride in their magical season.
DeBoer said he reminded them the 14-1 Huskies were 4-8 as recently as 2021.
“They’ve made a city proud, they made a fan base proud, they made alumni proud and most of all they showed what they’re made of,” he told ESPN. “The sun does come up tomorrow and these memories that we have, the journey we’ve been on, is special.”
Corum, Johnson named MVPs
Michigan running back Blake Corum and defensive back Will Johnson were named offensive and defensive MVPs, respectively, as the final punctuation on the Wolverine's definitive 34-13 title game victory.
Corum surprisingly started the game playing second fiddle to Donovan Edwards, but the first-team All-American handled the work down the stretch. Corum scored twice and finished with 134 rushing yards. The senior running back scored a touchdown in each of Michigan's 15 games this season.
Johnson was part of a Wolverine secondary that held Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to just 255 passing yards. Johnson grabbed one of the two interceptions Penix threw on the night, coming just as the momentum seemingly had turned to Washington to start the third quarter.
Reminder: There'll be no FSU-style snubs in the future
This is the final year of the four-team CFP, as next season's tournament will expand to 12 schools and possibly avoid controversies like last month's snub of then-undefeated Florida State.
FSU became the first undefeated major team left out of the CFP, as the Seminoles were bypassed for undefeated Michigan and Washington and then one-loss Alabama and Texas.
Some of the objections out of Tallahassee were silenced after Georgia, which lost the SEC title game to Alabama, crushed the Seminoles in the Orange Bowl.
In the midst of Michigan's celebration, ESPN turned its cameras to Michael Penix Jr. walking down off the field.
Clutching his side and slightly limping, Penix clearly suffered the impact of playing under the brightest lights on the largest stage.
Harried and hurried all night, and seemingly unable to connect with his receivers when it mattered most, Penix ends the season having led his team to 14 wins, a Pac-12 title, a Sugar Bowl victory. Pennix entered his name among the most proficient quarterbacks in college football history.
Good warmup game for the main event at NRG Stadium: Saturday's playoff matchup between the Cleveland Browns and the Houston Texans!
Jim Harbaugh speaks
“I’m so proud of our team,” the coach told ESPN. "15-0, took on all comers and (we’re) the last one standing. Champions.”
Joining the ranks of three of the last four CFP title game champions and... the 1897 Penn Quakers, Michigan becomes just the fifth team to finish a top-division college football season with 15 wins and zero losses. Recent CFP stalwarts Georgia, LSU and Clemson are also among the ranks of 15-0 teams.
The 2023-24 Wolverines are also the 64th undefeated college football national champion.
Hail to the victors, Michigan is the national champion
At 10:11 p.m. CST, the Michigan Wolverines were crowned champs.
Michigan adds to its notable national title, victory count
Exactly how many national titles a college or university can claim is a point of serious contention — and has been since basically the advent of collective collegiate football.
Michigan, depending on who you ask, has just claimed its 10th or 12th national title. The NCAA and the university disagree on titles in 1932 and 1947, during which Michigan was undefeated, and the university claims it won the national championship in both years. Both the NCAA and Michigan agree this will be its first national title since 1997.
Somewhat less controversial is Michigan's place as the winningest program in FBS football history. Michigan is the only program in history with more than 1,000 wins — and this is win 1,004.