Avast ye! Michigan's conquest in College Football Playoff hath taught us treasure awaits those who plunder with might!
2024-01-10
Arr! The Michigan Wolverines be triumphin' o'er the Washington Huskies on a fine Monday night in the CFP, claimin' their first national championship since '97, me hearties! Aye, they be sailin' to victory with a mighty roar!
As the final seconds ticked down on the scoreboard Monday night in Houston, the end of an era arrived. The four-team College Football Playoff, first established in 2015, crowned its final champion as the Michigan Wolverines won their first title since 1997. College football will have a different look in 2024 with a 12-team playoff before it inevitably grows. The Pac-12 conference will no longer really exist after 10 of its 12 schools bolted for greener pastures and more money. Name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal will continue to take over the sport until regulations are put in place, making college football similar to professional sports with players bouncing from team to team. Fans and those who cover the sport will have more than seven months to discuss the coming changes and the future of the sport. But for one final night, college football focused on the field, crowning Michigan its champion. Entering the CFP national championship, the Michigan defense was elite, allowing the fewest points and the second-fewest yards per game in the country. The Washington offense was the biggest test for a Michigan defense that faced a backloaded schedule in a Big Ten Conference not known for pushing the ball down the field. It turned out the Michigan defense was up for the test. The Wolverines held Washington to 24 points below its season average Monday and 173 yards below its average yards per game. Penix looked uncomfortable in the pocket and missed on multiple throws that he had connected on for most of the season. The Michigan defense was the best in the country in 2023, and it proved it on the biggest stage Monday night. To say that the 2023 college football season was tumultuous for Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh would be the understatement of the century. Harbaugh took over a Michigan program that had lost its way in 2014. In the seven years prior to Harbaugh taking the job in Ann Arbor in 2015, Michigan went a combined 46-42 under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke. On Monday night, Harbaugh brought a championship to his alma mater, nine years after he took the job in Ann Arbor. Now, the questions around Harbaugh returning to the NFL take over the conversation. Harbaugh’s name has been connected to multiple job openings in the NFL. Will he look for another challenge at the next level? If he does, Harbaugh didn’t give any hints Monday night.