Hail to the victors of Michigan. GO BLUE! We have the video of the FULL game highlights! Nobody has it better than the Wolverines, as Michigan beat the Washington Huskies, 34-13, in the College Football Playoff national championship game to win their first title since 1997. I remember that game, I was in my senior year of high school in Michigan. I remember thinking, Michigan football is amazing and my high school... let's just say in 4 years we won 6 games. Yes I remember that!
Michigan jumped out to a quick lead and didn’t look back, never trailing in the title game at NRG Stadium in Houston to capture its 12th national championship in program history.
The Michigan defense didn’t crack against a team that went into the game with a top 10 offense and the best passing offense in the country, led by Michael Penix Jr. Washington entered Monday averaging 37.6 points per game, but were held to a season-low in points, while Penix and company were never able to recover from playing-from-behind. Washington hung around for a majority of the game before the Wolverines pulled away in the fourth quarter.
The ground game led the way for the Wolverines offense, with the two-headed monster of Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum paving the way with all touchdowns for the offense. Corum ran the ball 21 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns, while Edwards had 104 yards on six rushes and two touchdowns. J.J. McCarthy played mistake free football at quarterback with 10-of-18 passes completed for 140 yards.
Despite two suspensions from recruiting violations and a sign-stealing scandal, Jim Harbaugh captured his first national championship as head coach of the Wolverines and the first 15-0 season in the team’s long history. Questions will arise if this was Harbaugh’s final game with Michigan, but he and his team will celebrate the first title in 26 years in the meantime.
CFP national championship score:
- Michigan — 34
- Washington — 13
J.J. McCarthy-Tom Brady comparisons:
Jim Harbaugh is so full of hyperbole on a regular basis that he will sometimes say outlandish things that go largely unnoticed. But it should probably be a little bit more of a conversation piece when Michigan’s coach (who was also a great Michigan quarterback) puts current Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the same sentence as a former Michigan quarterback who happens to be the most accomplished football player of all-time.
And the crazy part is he might be right – at least in the way Harbaugh is framing the argument. Though his passing statistics are rarely spectacular and may not resonate 30 years from now when people look back at this Michigan team without the proper context, McCarthy may well be at the top of the list if the Wolverines beat Washington on Monday to win the school’s first national title since 1997.
Entering the 2023 season, Pro Football Focused projected Michigan running back Blake Corum as the second-best running back in the 2024 NFL draft.
What Jim Harbaugh said after the CFP national championship game:
How will Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrate his team’s national championship? With a tattoo of course.
Earlier in the season, Harbaugh had said he doesn’t have any tattoos, but would get one if his team went undefeated. Now that mission has been accomplished, he is standing by his word.
"I did say that to our players," Harbaugh told reporters after the game. "I said if we go 15-0, I'm getting a tattoo. It's 15-0. I'm going to put it on my shoulder. I don't know if it's my left or right yet. I'm a right-handed quarterback, I'll probably get it on my right, and then an M too. An M that's maize and blue M."
Even during the celebration, Harbaugh was asked about if he’d one day want to celebrate a Super Bowl victory. He didn’t want to think about it as there are rumors of him departing for the NFL after this season.
"I just want to enjoy this. I hope you give me that," he said. "Can a guy have that? Does it always have to be what's next, what's the future?"
The head coach was also asked about overcoming all the off-the-field issues that surrounded the team. Despite two suspensions, Harbaugh still claims his innocence.
"The off-the-field issues, we're innocent and we stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent, and I'd like to point that out," Harbaugh said. "And these guys are innocent. And overcome that, it wasn't that hard because we knew we were innocent."
Odds for the 2024-25 championship:
Betting odds, according to BetMGM, to win the 2024-25 College Football Playoff national championship:
- Georgia +350
- Alabama +550
- Ohio State +800
- Michigan +900
- Texas +900
- Oregon +1000
