Michigan blocks Michael Penix Jr., Washington to win CFP

By Lauren Merola, Max Olson, Austin Meek, Jim Trotter and Nicole Auerbach

It’s been 26 years, but at the end of the day, no one has it better than Michigan.

The Wolverines, who ranked second in passing yards allowed per game at 150.0 heading into title city, faced their toughest task yet in taming the flamethrower, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Michigan answered the bell, carrying Penix to 255 yards and one touchdown – the only Washington TD of the night – against two interceptions on 27-of-51 passing, a huge departure from the nation’s leader’s usual performance in passing yards per game (332.0) and passing yards (4,648).

Couple that with the Wolverines’ run game and they defeated the Huskies 34-13 to become the 2023 College Football Playoff national champions Monday night at NRG Stadium in Houston. It’s Michigan’s first title since 1997 and under coach Jim Harbaugh .

Trailing 27-13 with less than five minutes to play, Penix attempted a pass to wide receiver Jalen McMillan but was picked off in double coverage. Michigan defensive back Mike Sainristil ran the ball back 80 yards before running back Blake Corum punched it in for the booster.

Corum finished with 134 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while his counterpart Donovan Edwards added 104 yards and two more scores on the ground.

Penix came out of the half trailing 17-10 and was swallowed up by the Wolverines’ defensive line on the first play. He threw an interception to Michigan defenseman Will Johnson and gave up the ball at Washington’s 32, while Penix staggered to the sideline after a teammate stepped on his ankle during the play. The Huskies’ defense then came up big, using two Michigan penalties, only to surrender a field goal and keep the game at bay, 20-10. It wasn’t enough, and Michigan regained the swinging momentum to hold the wire-to-wire lead.

“I just feel like it came down to the execution,” Penix said after the game. “I missed a few throws, just a few reads on routes and things like that. These are just small details within our system that we always do great.”

After the game, Penix had noticeable difficulty walking off the field, but said that “no matter what, I was going to make sure I finished it for the boys.”

“I’m not healthy, but I’ll be there. I am fine. It’s nothing important. I’m sure,” he said. “I talked to the doctors and stuff like that. It’s nothing important. If I have to play tomorrow, I will play.”

41 meters to the house 🏠

Michigan’s Donovan Edwards strikes first in the #National Championship

🎥 @espn pic.twitter.com/SCuRDbtWRV

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 9, 2024

Michigan set the tone as early as possible, gaining five first downs on an eight-play drive with its first touches on the ball, creating a 7-0 lead. By the time Michigan had a 14-3 lead with 2:23 left in the first quarter, it had 115 rushing yards. By the end of the first, Edwards had 87 yards and two touchdowns after having just three touchdowns on the season entering the game. It was an outrageous task for Washington, which allowed just two rush plays of more than 40 yards all season before Monday while passing up three such rushes in the first half.

In the air, a rather forgotten part of Michigan’s first half, quarterback JJ McCarthy completed his first three passes of the game, but then only two of the next nine. He went 0-for-4 on third and fourth downs at halftime. He finished 10 of 18 for 140 yards.

On the day, Washington posted 301 total yards to Michigan’s 444. Nearly 85 percent of Washington’s yards came through the air, while Michigan, conversely, racked up nearly 68 percent of its yards on the ground.

“I’m just super proud of this team and how far we’ve come, always being the underdog,” Penix said. “This is the only time you were all right, but we were able to fight and get through so many adversities and people doubted us all season and didn’t believe us. It’s a blessing to get to this point.”

What the title means for Michigan

Michigan finally broke through and captured a national championship in a year that at times felt more like a wild season of reality TV. This team had the right stuff to get the job done after back-to-back CFP semifinal losses in 2022 and 2023, won its third straight Big Ten title thanks to gritty wins over Penn State and Ohio State, kept fighting for a triumph in the overtime against Alabama in the Rose Bowl and, in the biggest test yet, closed Washington and its prolific offense. This was a special team on its way to destiny.

And that path has been littered with drama, from Harbaugh serving a three-game suspension to start the season, to the mid-season investigation into Connor Stalion’s impermissible signal-stealing operation, to another three-game suspension Harbaugh served when his team ended up at State College. , Dad. Through it all, no matter who was coaching or who they were playing, these Wolverines were undeterred. They had the No. 1 defense in college football, experienced leaders who refused to lose and the poise to play their best in their biggest games. — Max Olson, senior college football writer

Edwards shines when the spotlight is brightest

Edwards has a reputation for showing up in big moments. He wasn’t much of a factor for much of this season, averaging just 3.5 yards per carry in a limited role. But in the national championship game, Edwards made another stunning appearance.

Edwards opened the game with a 41-yard touchdown burst and scored again on Michigan’s next drive with a 46-yard run. Edwards laid the foundation for Michigan’s win and Corum capped it off by barreling into the end zone from 12 yards out to give the Wolverines a two-touchdown lead.

The two-headed offense Michigan envisioned with Corum and Edwards didn’t materialize for much of the season, but it did emerge in the biggest game of the year. Both players topped 100 yards on the ground, with Edwards rushing for 104 and Corum rushing for 134. When the Wolverines run the ball like that, no one can stop them. — Austin Meek, Michigan defeated writer

What happened to Penix?

Statistically, this wasn’t the worst performance of Penix’s brilliant season. But given the stakes, it certainly felt that way.

A week after turning in a stellar performance in a College Football Playoff win over Texas, Penix was beaten and defeated, falling to Michigan and his Washington teammates in the national title game. The pinpoint accuracy and explosive play that wowed observers against the Longhorns were nowhere to be found Monday night.

He seemed to be in physical pain toward the end, though the loss of a perfect season probably hurt more. There were opportunities for big plays, but Penix was uncharacteristically absent on several opportunities. And when he was on goal, he was injured by missed passes. — Jim Trotter, senior writer

Credit Washington’s defense

Early on, it looked like Michigan was going to run away with the game — literally, after two Edwards touchdown runs of more than 40 yards. But credit Washington’s defense for its resilience and toughness for letting the Huskies hang around in this game, even if Penix isn’t nearly as bright as he was a week ago in the Sugar Bowl.

After all the fireworks in the first 17 minutes of the game, Michigan went on punts, turnovers on downs, punts, field goals, punts, punts, punts; the longest drive the Wolverines put together lasted just 41 yards… until that touchdown drive in the middle of the fourth quarter that resulted in a Corum touchdown and put Michigan ahead by two scores. — Nicole Auerbach, senior college football writer

A Pac-12 swan song

Monday night’s game was a bittersweet moment for the Pac-12 Conference. The Huskies finally break through to reach the CFP and break a seven-year conference drought and they win an exciting semifinal to reach a national championship game… and it’s the very last game for the Pac-12 as we have always had , with 10 of the 12 teams set to leave for other power conferences next season. This Washington team was great to watch all season, as was the entire Pac-12 Conference, with rising teams like Oregon, Oregon State and Arizona and the national phenomenon that was Colorado. It’s a tough pill to swallow because it feels like if the Pac-12 had had this fall’s season a year or two ago, it would never have died. Unfortunately.

But the Big Ten is excited that there will be both title game participants and league members in August. A rematch of a national championship game will be a Big Ten conference game, on Oct. 5. – Auerbach

Required reading

(Photo: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)