Over the last four months, the sports world has been enthralled by the wonder of arguably man’s greatest creation, college football. Throughout this season we have seen game-winning kicks, hail marys, monumental matchups, raging crowds, massive upsets, historic underdogs, gripping scandals, and so much more. Tonight in Houston we will cap off what’s been a unique and unforgettable college football season with a very intriguing matchup between powerhouses Michigan and Washington.
For Michigan, the road to Houston has been anything but smooth. While they cruise into this matchup undefeated, their season to this point has been mired in scandal and outrage from members of the college football world. To begin the season, their head coach Jim Harbaugh was sidelined for the first three games of the season as a result of recruiting violations. To make matters worse, in November it was announced that Harbaugh would be suspended for three more games, including the two biggest games on their regular season schedule, due to his program’s sign-stealing scandal. The program itself has not received any further sanctions as of this time but interim head coach Sherrone Moore stepped in and led the Wolverines to wins over Penn State and Ohio State to save the season.
The Wolverines have always been known for having a stifling defense and this year’s team is no different, but what sets them apart is their phenomenal offensive line and high-powered run game led by all-American running back Blake Corum. Corum put the offense on his back this season and was complimented by a much improved passing attack led by quarterback JJ McCarthy. While the passing game isn’t a staple of this Michigan offense, McCarthy’s job is to just be good enough to be effective and he’s done that and much more. If Michigan wants to win tonight and finally get over that hump of actually winning a title, their stout defense is going to have to slow down Washington’s tremendous offensive attack and the offense will need to grind out yardage and capitalize on opportunities.
The Washington Huskies enter this game as the nation’s stereotypical lovable underdog. While most knew entering this season that they would be great, few expected them to be on this stage with a 14-0 record and wins over numerous elite programs, including two wins over Oregon, one over USC, and of course the big one last week against Texas. For head coach Kalen Deboer, this team has performed better than he could have ever hoped, transfer quarterback Michael Penix (who has beat Michigan in his career, while he was at Indiana), utilized what some believe to be the best receiving core in the nation to put up unbelievable numbers this Fall, bludgeoning any defense that stood in their way. The Huskies’ success will lie in their ability to put up points against that Michigan defense and their ability to stop Corum and the Wolverines offense from controlling the time of possession.
This game carries added meaning as it relates to the future of college football, the fact remains that no matter the outcome tonight, the Big 10 conference has to feel very good about itself. Next season, Washington, along with other powerhouse Pac-12 programs will be leaving the conference and joining the Big 10, making tonight’s game the final football game in the history of the Pac-12 conference. As someone who’s grown up and loved watching those late-night West Coast games and gotten to love the style of play and the matchups this conference produces, it would feel very satisfying to see the conference go out on top with its first and only College Football Playoff championship.
So first and foremost I want an entertaining and close football game tonight. The four months of college football are unequivocally the best part of my year and nothing short of an all-time classic will be enough to hold me over until next season. There’s an old expression when it comes to looking at these scenarios that my Grandma taught me. Every now and then she’ll ask me for my “head and my heart prediction.”
Beginning with my head, I think that Michigan’s advantage is all in the matchup, I think that their offensive line and running game is too much for the Washington defensive front to handle. While the Huskies’ receiving core poses a challenge for every secondary in the country, I think Michigan will come into the game with a few tricks up their sleeve on how to use their immense speed and athleticism to contain Penix and his trio of elite receivers. Then there’s my heart. As I stated above, Pac-12 football has been a staple of my college football fandom since the very beginning, it’s just a different style of play, and it’s a different experience all around. While it has been a struggle for a majority of these schools to gain national relevance over the years in football, it’s been a joy watching the conference thrive this year from top to bottom, unlike any season they’ve had before in the playoff era. Because of this, it would bring me a lot of happiness to see the Pac-12 finally win a College Football Playoff national championship in their final year as a conference so for these loyalty reasons, my heart is with Washington tonight.
No matter what the result is tonight in Houston, for America, it’s an opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the breathtaking moments, the crushing defeats, the joyful celebrations, the passion, the comradery, and every emotion that this season brought to us all. For those that haven’t been too attentive, tonight is your night to tune in and get a taste of everything you’ve missed out on, as we get a display of college football at its very best on the biggest stage.
