The No.1-ranked Michigan Wolverines and the No.2-ranked Washington Huskies have advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game after semifinal wins on Monday.
After dominating in the first half, Michigan needed a late touchdown to force overtime against No.4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl. The Wolverines came away with the 27-20 win on a Blake Corum touchdown run on the first possession of overtime as Alabama’s extremely predictable play call on fouth-and-goal from the three-yard line was stopped for — at best — a minimal gain.
“That was two teams that were really physical, really tough teams up front,” Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh said during a postgame press conference. “I really felt this game was — if ever a game was going to be won up front — it was going to be won with toughness and physicality, and our guys were just there in rhythm and got it done. Epic game. Epic game.”
Meanwhile, Washington defeated the No.3-ranked Texas Longhorns for the second year in a row in the Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans behind its dynamic passing game. The Huskies used a 10-point third quarter to pull away in a tied game, as quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns throughout the game.
Texas mounted a late comeback after Washington failed to add to its lead following a fumble recovery. The Longhorns’ defense stood strong and forced a punt, giving their offense the ball with over 11 minutes remaining. They drove down the field, and quarterback Quinn Ewers completed a touchdown pass to Adonai Mitchell to cut the deficit to six, but Washington added a late field goal, and its defense came up with a crucial stop to end the game with a 37-31 victory as Texas came within 13 yards of the winning score.
“Coach DeBoer’s always preached to us, ‘We’re built for this moment,’ and we believed it,” Penix Jr. told the media postgame. “No matter the circumstances, the adversity we went through during that drive, I know everybody on the sideline continued to believe and continued to believe in that defense that they were going to get that stop because they’ve done it all year.”
Neither Michigan (14-0) nor Washington (14-0) has won a national championship since the 1990s — before there was an actual championship game. The two schools will play for the title at 6:30 p.m. CT on Monday at Houston’s NRG Stadium.
