HOUSTON -- Michigan is the champion of college football.
The No. 1 Wolverines won their 12th national title with a 34-13 victory over No. 2 Washington on Monday at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
It is the second title for a Big Ten team in the College Football Playoff era, which next season will see a semifinal and championship game played in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Michigan will try to follow Georgia in 2021 and ‘22 and repeat as champ in ‘24.
“Who could possibly have it better than us?” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh asked after noting the program extended its record-setting win mark to 1,004.
The Wolverines pushed the Huskies to the brink with a 12-yard touchdown run by Blake Corum with 7:09 left in the fourth quarter in front of an announced attendance of 72,808. Defensive back Mike Sainristil followed with an 81-yard interception return with 4:29 left. Corum scored again, this time from a yard out, to cap the scoring with 3:37 left.
Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who once worked at Georgia State, crafted a game plan that used pressure and sure tackling to mostly neutralize quarterback and 4,600-yard passer Michael Penix and 1,000-yard wide receivers Rome Odunze and Ja’Lynn Polk. The Huskies were averaging 37.6 points per game.
Minter said they tried to mix up defenses with different pressures and coverages.
It’s a long way from coaching in front of a few thousand at the Georgia Dome as the Panthers defensive coordinator, where he coached with his dad, Rick, who coaches the linebackers at Michigan.
“You want to try and reach the pinnacle of the sport and to be able to do that with this great group of guys, great head coach, great program, yeah, it’s gonna be hard to top,” Jesse Minter said.
Washington, featuring an offensive line voted the best in FBS, had four chances to tie the game in the second half but the Wolverines turned them away until they could build a two-score margin.
“We just couldn’t make that one play here and there,” Washington coach Kalen DeBoer said. “And when we did, a penalty, maybe bringing the play back, a holding call, things like that. We just couldn’t get over the hump. We couldn’t finish the drive the way that we’re used to.”
Penix, a Heisman Trophy finalist, completed 27 of 51 passes for 251 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Odunze and Polk were held to nine receptions for 124 yards.
“We came here, we wanted to win,” Penix said. “That’s been our goal since day one. I said this since day one. But, man, it sucks. We played a good team. They did some good things. I feel like on the offensive side of the ball, we just missed a lot of opportunities, opportunities where we needed to execute the most to help our team, put our team in a better position to come out with this win.”
On offense, Wolverines running back Donovan Edwards scored on runs of 41 and 46 yards on his team’s first two drives to give the Huskies their largest deficit in a season marked by razor-thin margins. Washington had won each of its previous 10 games by 10 points or less. The Wolverines’ running attack totaled 303 yards with Corum and Edwards combining for 238 yards and four touchdowns.
Now, that everybody has been conquered, is there anyone left?
The Wolverines adopted the phrase “Michigan vs. Everybody” as a response to the myriad allegations ranging from sign-stealing to recruiting violations against the program, which one day could result in its 15-0 season being reduced to something less by the NCAA.
That’s a possible worry for another day.
Other possible worries: will Harbaugh return, or will he jump again to the NFL? Five teams, including the Falcons, are looking for coaches. Harbaugh wouldn’t answer questions about his future, other than to say he hopes he has a future. Will quarterback J.J. McCarthy return, or will he declare for the draft where he is projected to be a first-round pick. The Falcons, who are slotted to pick No. 8, are looking for a quarterback in what owner Arthur Blank described as a “rich quarterback draft” class.
Washington will have to rebuild without Penix, another possible Falcons target, and likely without its two excellent receivers, among other key pieces that helped it win the Pac-12 and the Sugar Bowl.
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