SI:AM | Michigan Was Simply Too Much for Washington

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I was excited to watch Michael Penix Jr. sling the ball last night, but credit to Michigan’s defense for hemming him in.

In today’s SI:AM:

〽️ Michigan cruises

???? Washington tastes defeat for the first time

???? Our best photos from Houston

Three decades in the making

After a season marked by controversy, the Michigan Wolverines are national champions.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended twice this season (first for recruiting violations, then for the team’s sign-stealing scandal), but it was Harbaugh and the Wolverines who lifted the trophy on the field in Houston last night after handling Washington in the national title game, 34–13.

The Wolverines started the game with a breeze of a touchdown drive, marching 84 yards in eight plays without even facing a third down as Donovan Edwards capped the drive with a 41-yard touchdown run. Edwards’s 46-yard score on the next possession made it 14–3, and Michigan never really looked back.

The Huskies did well to stick around as the game wore on, scoring a crucial touchdown late in the second quarter to head into halftime trailing 17–10, but it always felt as though Michigan was in control. Even when the Wolverines’ offense sputtered (it went 40 minutes between its second touchdown of the night and its third), the defense refused to budge. The secondary was particularly excellent, limiting the impact of Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. after he torched Texas in the Sugar Bowl. Penix completed 27 of 51 passes for 255 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The Huskies entered the game with 89 plays of at least 20 yards this season but had just one last night (a 44-yard completion from Penix to Rome Odunze on their 59th play of the night).

Michigan’s offense, meanwhile, was uncharacteristically explosive. The Wolverines entered the game tied for 112th in the nation with just 19 plays of at least 30 yards this season but reeled off six against the Huskies. In the end, that was the difference in the game.

The win is exactly what Harbaugh envisioned when he took over as coach of his alma mater in 2015. The Wolverines hadn’t lived up to their lofty standards under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, and after a disappointing ’20 season in which they went 2–4, it looked as though Harbaugh wouldn’t be the man to lead them back to glory, either. But over the past three seasons Michigan has been as consistently dominant as any team in college football. It’s beaten archrival Ohio State, won the Big Ten championship and qualified for the Playoff each year. Now, it’s finally lifted the trophy at the end of the season.

The win has to feel particularly sweet for Michigan fans after all the drama this season. First, Harbaugh was suspended for the first three games of the season due to an NCAA violation (meeting with recruits during a COVID-19 dead period and then lying about it to investigators). The more serious controversy that plagued the Wolverines was the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal, which earned Harbaugh another three-game suspension at the end of the regular season. Every team claims to to withstand all sorts of adversity on its path to glory, but the Wolverines dealt with some legitimate distractions this season.

It won’t be smooth sailing after winning the championship, either. The attention turns now to Harbaugh’s future with the school, which is very much in question. Rumblings that he might return to the NFL have followed him basically from the moment he set foot on campus, but those whispers are growing louder now. It’s possible that Harbaugh could end his college coaching career on a high note and make the leap back to the pros.

But that’s a question for another day. For now, Harbaugh and Michigan can revel in having built a team so formidable that it cruised to an undemanding national championship game victory.

The best of Sports Illustrated

• Pat Forde’s story on Michigan’s championship victory has everything, from how the Wolverines leaned on their running game to what this means for Harbaugh.
• Richard Johnson wrote about the game from Washington’s perspective and how the Huskies’ uneven offensive performance was the difference.
• Here are a few of Erick Rasco’s best photos from the national championship game.
• Jimmy Traina breaks down Pat McAfee’s fascinating decision to pick a fight with ESPN’s Norby Williamson.
• Stephanie Apstein constructed a starting lineup out of the best MLB free agents still available.
• Tom Verducci looks at how former Brewers GM David Stearns is poised to remake the Mets’ front office.
• Tiger Woods is leaving Nike after 27 years.
• Ja Morant will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his shoulder.

The top five...

… from last night’s national title game:

5. Michael Penix Jr.’s touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan just before halftime. If you look closely, you can see Penix point out a Michigan penalty. The Wolverines’ defense, apparently believing Penix was pointing toward a receiver, left McMillan open in the back of the end zone.

4. Blake Corum’s patience and vision on his first touchdown.

3. Donovan Edwards’s effortless second touchdown.

2. Edwards’s speed on his first touchdown.

1. Mike Sainristil’s interception and long return that basically sealed the game.

SIQ

Today is the anniversary of the only time an NBA team failed to make a single free throw in a game. What year did the game occur?

• 1949
• 1972
• 1996
• 2012

Yesterday’s SIQ: Which school did Florida State beat on Jan. 8, 2014 in the final BCS championship game?

• Oregon
• Notre Dame
• Auburn
• Ohio State

Answer: Auburn. The Ohio State Buckeyes had been No. 2 in the penultimate BCS rankings, but when they lost to the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten championship game and No. 3 Auburn prevailed over the fifth-ranked Missouri Tigers, Auburn slid up into the second spot.

The title game was a dramatic one. Florida State took a 27–24 lead on Kermit Whitfield’s 100-yard kickoff return with 4:31 left to play, but then Auburn took the lead right back on Tre Mason’s 37-yard touchdown run with 1:19 left. FSU responded as Jameis Winston led a masterful drive that culminated in Kelvin Benjamin’s two-yard touchdown catch with 13 seconds on the clock to win the Seminoles’ third national championship.