HOUSTON — Michigan versus Washington is just about the perfect way to end the 2023 college football season.
It’s a matchup of unbeatens that hits all the major themes and storylines of the past five months, from conference realignment to the NCAA transfer portal, with Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh as the main character.
Harbaugh’s top-ranked Wolverines (14-0) will face Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the second-ranked Huskies (14-0) on Monday at NRG Stadium in the last national title game before the College Football Playoff expands from four teams to 12. The 7:30 p.m. Eastern game will be televised by ESPN, with alternate options to the main telecast on ESPN2 (Field Pass), ESPNEWS (SkyCast) and ESPNU (Command Center).
“We’re going to have to play really good. And I think our team is ready,” Harbaugh said Sunday during a news conference with Washington coach Kalen DeBoer in which he compared his team to a pack of wolves and — yet again — ducked questions about his future.
“Still, the hay is not in the barn,” Harbaugh added. “It never is for us. Still polishing. Still working. But super excited, super excited to watch our players go out there and compete tomorrow night.”
Michigan’s regular season started and ended with Harbaugh serving three-game suspensions related to NCAA infractions cases. The first suspension came from the school, while the latter was handed down by the Big Ten Conference in November as punishment after allegations of an in-person scouting and sign-stealing scheme the conference determined broke its sportsmanship policy.
The scandal dominated headlines just as Michigan was entering the meat of its league schedule. The accusations against Harbaugh’s program led many to question the legitimacy of the Wolverines’ renaissance over the past three seasons. This is Michigan’s third straight playoff appearance but its first time advancing, with the Wolverines beating Alabama 27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
Being doubted only galvanized a team loaded with experience that came into the season unafraid to point to winning Michigan’s first national championship since the 1997 season as the goal.
“A lot of guys came back just for this moment,” said linebacker Michael Barrett, one of nine Michigan starters in their fifth or sixth years.
AP photo by David Dermer / Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett celebrates during the Wolverines’ home win against Ohio State to close the regular season on Nov. 25.Washington is built similarly and led by the type of star who typifies college football’s new era of player empowerment.
Penix is a Florida native who started his career at Indiana — he already has a win against Michigan on his resumé — but transferred to Washington to play for DeBoer in 2022.
Finally healthy after four injury-ravaged seasons in the Big Ten, Penix has become a star in the Pacific Northwest. The runner-up for the Heisman Trophy surely had some voters questioning their decision last week when he threw for 430 yards in a 37-31 victory against Texas at the Sugar Bowl.
“Man, it’s a dream come true. To be honest, I’m still wrapping my head around it,” Penix said.
Penix decided to run it back for 2023 in December 2022, and a bunch of talented teammates followed, including offensive tackle Troy Fautanu, receiver Rome Odunze and defensive end Bralen Trice, all of whom received some level of All-America recognition.
“He kind of led the charge. And a lot of guys chose to go down the same road,” DeBoer said Sunday. “I think they just really firmly believe that there was more left out there for this football team.”
It helps these days that college players can make some extra money off their fame via name, image and likeness compensation. NIL collectives for both schools concentrated efforts on retaining their established players.
The combination of NIL money and loosening transfer rules seemed to tip the balance of power in college football this season. After years of the same small group of teams locking down the majority of playoff spots, and Southeastern Conference teams or Clemson winning eight straight titles, the top tier of contenders grew — but too soon for the CFP to accommodate all the deserving teams.
The four-team playoff will go out like it came in during the 2014 season, with a Big Ten versus Pac-12 final as Washington plays the final Pac-12 football game for the conference as it is currently structured.
During the three weeks leading into the 2023 season, the Pac-12 was plundered by its Power Five competitors. The conference went on to have its most entertaining and competitive season in years, with the Huskies snapping a six-year playoff drought for the Pac-12.
The Huskies will try to win the league’s first national title in football since Southern California in 2004, which would be a parting gift of sorts for the league it helped found in 1915. Washington’s most recent national championship came in 1991.
The Huskies will join the new coast-to-coast Big Ten this summer, and in nine months they’ll welcome Michigan to Seattle for a conference game.
AP photo by Butch Dill / Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. scrambles during the Sugar Bowl against Texas last Monday night in New Orleans. Penix led the Huskies to a 37-31 victory in the game, a College Football Playoff semifinal.Whether Harbaugh will still be the Michigan coach by then remains to be seen. The presumption and speculation has been that for the third straight year, he will draw interest from NFL teams. Harbaugh spent four years with the San Francisco 49ers, leading them to a Super Bowl against older brother John’s Baltimore Ravens, before returning to his alma mater in 2015.
It took a while, but the 60-year-old Harbaugh has delivered on the high expectations he brought to Ann Arbor. Despite the tumult off the field, Michigan would like to keep him around.
The uncertainty about Harbaugh, especially with even more NCAA-related penalties possibly looming for him and Michigan, has given this season a last-dance vibe for the Wolverines.
“Everything is right here in front of us, coming down the straightaway, like a thoroughbred,” Harbaugh said. “You can see the finish line. Got the blinders on. Each guy, I’m just going to the whip.”