SAD NEWS: Michigan Wolverines best player Blake Corum set to departed to

Michigan Bowl Record: 22-29- Head coach Jim Harbaugh bowl record: 3-7- Last National Championship: 1997- Michigan was 1-9 in its previous ten bowl games before beating Alabama 27-20 in overtime of the Rose Bowl.Washington Bowl Record: 20-19-1- Head coach Dan Lanning bowl record: 2-0- Last National Championship: 1991- Before beating Texas over the last two seasons, the last Washington bowl victory over an at-the-time Power Five program was over Nebraska 19-7 in the 2019 Holiday

Texas generated pressure on Michael Penix Jr. in the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl. That’s supposed to slow down the Washington deep shots and keep Penix from getting comfortable.The guy threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in the 37-31 win. Washington was supposed to finally buckle in a close game – it couldn’t win all of the tight battles – against a talented Texas team with just as many offensive weapons. Nope. The Huskies held on to take down their 21st win in a row and their eighth one-score victory in the last nine games. This

team loves pressure moments and loves even to – sort for the cliché – prove the doubters wrong.Oregon was supposed to beat the Dawgs in the Pac-12 Championship – hand raised on that one. Road trips and USC and Oregon State were supposed to trip them up – both hands up on those, too. Utah was going to end the run when it rolled into Seattle, and Texas was going to play for the national championship after the fantastic way it finished the regular season. Yeah, I whiffed on those, too.It’s not quite right, though, to assume Washington is disrespected. It was shaky against Stanford and Arizona State, and it does have a way of keeping both teams in the game – more on that in a moment. But

whenever there seems to be a big issue. Penix and his NFL receivers bomb their way out of trouble.Contrary to popular belief, Michigan did face some strong quarterbacks this season. Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe – he was far better against the Wolverines than he got credit for – and yes, former Ohio State-turned-Syracuse starter Kyle McCord and Penn State’s Drew Allar really are talented, even if they didn’t blow up as expected. But no, Michigan’s great secondary hasn’t been pushed yet like it will be in this. Penix is great at sidestepping the rush, the UW offensive front is the best in the nation in pass protection, and it’ll be the first team on the Wolverine slate that will consistently keep precision-pushing the ball down the field.Milroe threw for 172 yards against Michigan. McCord and Tagovailoa each got past the 240-yard mark. All three happened in the last four games – the punt-baby-

punt Iowa team the outlier – and all three were tight games that could’ve gone either way. All three also hit 60% or more of their passes – rare against the D – and that’s a given for Penix Jr. Be shocked if he doesn’t connect on 70% of his throws, even on the deep shots.And then there’s the Washington defensive front that stepped up over the last few games. It struggled at times, but Bralen Trice and the bunch bothered Texas QB Quinn Ewers, came up with big sacks on Washington State’s Cam Ward in the close key win, and it has to get to JJ McCarthy who – despite the 17-of-27 game for 221 yards and three scores against Alabama – was way too shaky.All of this is a long way of saying Washington would love to drag Michigan out of its style and make this an up-and-down firefight. Howeve

No, Michigan hasn’t faced a quarterback as great as Michael Penix Jr. – at least since he left Indiana for Seattle – but this secondary has the speed to hold up against the Washington receiver flash.The Alabama downfield passing game that rose up and rocked over the second half of the season was essentially neutralized in the Rose Bowl. Maryland’s solid bunch of targets came up with a few big plays, but not enough.And yes, while Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk, Jalen McMillen, and TE Jack Westover are fantastic, Marvin Harrison Jr. and the Ohio State receivers were pretty good,

too, and the Wolverines survived despite allowing a few big plays.But there’s a bigger problem for Washington – besides having to play the best defensive team in college football. There are two problems, actually.The first was the way Michigan played against Alabama. That team on the other side of the ball had something to do with it, but the special teams miscues, a few bad late decisions, the third down issues, and the two penalties – both were in massive moments – wasn’t like the Michigan of 2023. But it was still a win.On the flip side is the other problem for the Pac-12 champ. Washington pitched as close to a perfect game as it could’ve in a big game like the CFP Semifinal, and it still couldn’t land the plane without a slew of bumps. Texas had its chances in the final second – and totally blew it, but that’s for another day – even though it was clunky and totally off all night. Washington won’t be nearly as tight or

flawless against Michigan. This team is a penalty machine at times – it shockingly got flagged five fewer times than Texas – getting whacked with close to 71 yards per game. Michigan is second best in the nation in penalties only losing about 26 yards per game.Even with its great offense, Washington can’t afford to lose any yards, much less 71, against a defense that gives up 243 total yards per game. And then there’s the other side …Trice is wonderful, but there’s not much of a pass rush from this Dawg D. There’s also a limited rushing offense, made worse by the injury to Dillon Johnson suffered late against Texas when the O didn’t take a knee. (He’s supposed to play on a banged up leg, but he’ll be hurting.)Washington settled in and settled down against the Longhorns with that running game to mix a few things up. In this, though, there won’t be any gashing runs against this Michigan line. No …If the Huskies are going to do this, it’ll be about one guy.CFP National Championship Experts Picks