Houston – The Michigan Wolverines won the college football national championship to conclude their best season ever at 15-0, running away in a title game with plenty of excitement and historical significance.
Michigan never trailed. U-M raced to a convincing 17-3 edge, as junior backup running back Donovan Edwards scored twice on runs of more than 40 yards. U-M fans exploded over such big plays in the noisy, domed NRG Stadium.
Washington’s top-rated passing offense managed nearly 100 yards fewer than its average. Michael Penix, Jr.’s touchdown pass before halftime made the score 17-10 just before halftime. After matching field goals, UW was within reach until game MVP Blake Corum ran for two TDs in the final quarter.
Game defensive MVP Will Johnson made a juggling interception to snuff out the second half’s opening drive. In a star matchup, DB Mike Sainristil contained WR Rome Odunze for most of the game. Sainristil’s 81-yard INT return set up a final score, for extra emphasis on this dominating performance.
Crystal Ball
My strategic hunches played out. Corum was the MVP. The stocky senior led the nation with 27 rushing TDs. Also, U-M overpowered UW in the trenches. Michigan amassed a title-game record of 303 rushing yards. It sure was “Ground Control” in Space City. Further, quarterback J.J. McCarthy ran well. He blazed to a long, key scramble then ran for another first down. He’s turning pro a year early.
The Wolverine defense ranked first nationally. U-M penetrated UW’s mostly Samoan O-line to pressure Penix into off-balance, off-mark throws. It all came true, before my eyes.
Head coach Jim Harbaugh grinned enthusiastically in the postseason-win ceremony, as fans stood and cheered. If Harbaugh takes a pro job as expected instead of signing a lucrative ten-year extension at U-M, I wish him the very best.
‘M’ Upends ‘W’
The final score was 34-13. I predicted 34-31 on my Facebook page, anticipating UW scoring more. The Huskies inverted their score. Oddsmakers figured on a margin of less than a TD.
The lopsided score reflected my slogan that “‘M’ will turn ‘W’ upside down.” I grinned and playfully pointed to a large ‘W’ on an opposing fan’s jersey, in the shuttle ride back to the hotel. “Turn that ‘W’ upside down,” I said, pausing while imagining an ‘M.‘ “Ah, there you go.” The man managed a smile.
Washington fans I encountered were friendly. I consoled them that they should be proud of ousting Texas in a semifinal, and twice beating Oregon — which is also heading from the PAC 12 to U-M’s Big 10 in ‘24. Young adult Husky fans bellowed “woof, woof, woof!” like husky dogs, entering the game. They were less intense than are woofing Georgia Bulldog fans.
Michigan fans countered by chanting in unison that, “It’s good … to be … a Mich-i-gan Wol-ver-ine!” My school pride pulsated before, during, and after the contest and a day earlier when hearing “The Victors” at a rousing pep rally. The famed marching band danced and even got acrobatic.
Also There on 1/1/98
The last time I saw my Wolverines play a sport in person, they beat Washington State and won the 1997 A.P. poll title. That was in the fourth Rose Bowl I went to. That was the final season before BCS title games emerged for a singular title. This latest title game is the last one before playoffs expand from four to 12 teams.
On New Year’s Day of ’98, I sat 18 rows from the field at the 10-yard line near the end zone. It’s where Michigan scored to take the lead, and where Heisman-winning Charles Woodson famously intercepted Ryan Leaf. I snapped a photo of such plays. I took many more on Jan. 8, with the iPhone I bought mainly as a camera.
This month, I again paid my way to sit in a preferred lower section. I sat even with the 23-yard line, on the Husky side with a view of the U-M sideline and coaches.
Delayed Gratification
This is Michigan’s tenth official national football title, but merely its second since 1948. It feels more gratifying after frustrating close calls. After the title game, the rock band Queen’s anthem “We are the Champions” blared. The line “two times a loser” fits. U-M lost the title game two years ago to powerful Georgia, then was upset a season ago by upstart Texas A&M.
The first three Rose Bowls I attended were U-M losses. Two were to Rose Bowl arch-rival Southern Cal, starting in Coach Bo Schembechler’s final season of 1989.
The other Rose Bowl loss was to QB Mark Brunell and Washington, which won a national title with the win. The score was 34-14. This time, we beat the Huskies for the title in a role-reversal. The score was similar at 34-13. Our 21-point margin was one more point better. Talk about eventual payback and one-upmanship. The schools’ bowl series is 2-2, with a split of Rose Bowl wins in the Seventies.
Titanic Semi; Team First
Michigan edged Alabama 27-20 in overtime in a semifinal on Jan. 1, in the Rose Bowl stadium. This matched the two schools with the most football wins all-time. Michigan is the first to surpass 1,000 victories. The Crimson Tide is the premier program recently. Coach Nick Saban won titles with Bama six times in 2009-2020. He retired days ago. His successor, Kalen DeBoer, coached Washington. Michigan beat both coaches consecutively this month.
Character is crucial. Corum missed that A&M game a year ago, due to a severe injury. He still could have turned pro. He instead returned, to go for the title. After winning it, he proclaimed, “Business is finished.” Corum epitomizes teamwork. Coach Bo in ’83 gave his famed “The team, the team, the team” speech, which remains a team slogan. It’s about the big picture, putting others first.
Similarly, Corum generously donated some of his NIL money for purchase of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals for the needy in Detroit. Hail to such Victors, on and off the championship field.