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Key events
Halftime: Washington 10-17 Michigan
Remember – the Wolverines used their last timeout. So after two solid passing plays, they’re forced to run up and spike the ball to stop the clock, bringing up third down near midfield. The next pass sails high.
Would Harbaugh dare go for it again on fourth down after giving up such a big momentum swing when they missed the conversion on their last drive? Nope. The punt unit comes out, and the kick rolls down to the 2-yard line.
Given where they stood a few short minutes ago, Washington has to feel OK kneeling with the ball to end the half down only seven points.
Touchdown! Washington 10-17 Michigan, 0:42, 2nd quarter
Game on.
Jalen McMillan immediately gets open in the back of the end zone, and Penix completes the routine throw.
Even if he had missed, the Huskies would’ve been in good shape – the Wolverines held Odunze and would’ve conceded a penalty.
Washington will get the ball first in the second half, so if they can avoid giving up a quick score here, we’ll have a game very much in the balance.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 1:20, 2nd quarter
I have no idea what Washington was trying to accomplish there. Penix rolls out to the short side of the field and runs … nowhere. There’s nowhere to go.
Fourth down …
NOW Penix drops back to pass, and …
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 1:31, 2nd quarter
So you run a lot of quick passing plays to march down the field like you’re hiking on a flat trail, and what do you do next? Let’s hand off to our injured running back!
And again!
Michigan calls timeout before third down from the 5.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 2:00, 2nd quarter
Odunze has 1-on-1 coverage, and he falls down after making contact with his defender. Penix throws that way, maybe hoping for a pass interference call, but it’s not coming. Odunze may have just lost his balance.
On third down, though, Penix throws the other way looking for Jalen McMillan, and this time, he gets the interference calls as the defender is forced to grab him and to prevent the TD pass.
First and goal, Washington.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 2:17, 2nd quarter
Washington’s offense comes out with a sense of urgency, running off a quick sequence of plays and quickly getting into Michigan territory. Odunze is nearly knocked down by his own lineman after catching a short pass, but he plows ahead for a first down. The next play is another short pass for a first down, this time to Jack Westover.
The momentum stops with an incompletion, but the Huskies are driving.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 4:43, 2nd quarter
And Harbaugh reconsiders. Michigan will go for it from the Washington 38-yard line. Quick throw from McCarthy – and it’s broken up. Washington’s secondary has looked lost against the long runs, but they’ve been sharp in the aerial game. McCarthy has completed just three of his eight passes.
Washington takes over on downs.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 4:46, 2nd quarter
Edwards gets the handoff up the middle and makes some progress but comes up three yards short of the first down. Michigan thinks about going for it on fourth down, but the punt unit comes out instead.
But coach Jim Harbaugh might not be satisfied with that decision. He calls timeout.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 5:45, 2nd quarter
McCarthy departs the game for a play as Alex Orji comes in to take a snap, fake a handoff and run for 13 yards. Replay shows Michigan got away with a hold.
The change-of-pace quarterback stays in to run up the middle but finds no room and a short gain. The Washington defense again comes up with a nice stop on Corum on second down, but the player who brought him down, Jabbar Muhammad, is down injured.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 7:45, 2nd quarter
Well, now Penix is trapped deep in his own half, as Michigan overwhelms the Washington offensive line for a 12-yard sack. He has to rush his throw on second down to avoid being taken down at the goal line.
On third down, Penix dumps the ball short to Dillon Johnson, who gets back past the 20-yard line at least. A decent punt follows, but I don’t think that’s going to make Washington fans feel any better about how this is transpiring.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 9:36, 2nd quarter
Good stop on first down. Michigan fakes the handoff to two-TD man Donovan Edwards and gives McCarthy a chance to air it out, but the Washington secondary – which clinched the win over Texas in the semifinal with a late stop – makes a strong play on second down. They defend well again on third down, and that was a very quick and fruitless series from Michigan.
Michigan’s punt sails into the end zone, so Penix will start a new drive without being pinned deep in the Washington half.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 10:27, 2nd quarter
Penix gets 12 of those yards back with a good throw down the middle, but it’s still fourth down and 7. Time to punt? No! The Huskies go for it!
And Odunze springs open! Penix throws to the wide-open future NFL wide receiver … and slings it behind him. Odunze tries in vain to pivot and make the catch, but he can’t snare it.
A half-decent pass, and that’s a touchdown. Shocking miss from the star QB, and Michigan will take over at midfield, already up 14.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 11:16, 2nd quarter
Fake handoff up the middle, then a long throw near the sideline and 5 yards past the line of scrimmage to Odunze, who duly picks up the first down.
Penix then drops back and takes a bit more time with the ball before firing to Ja’Lynn Polk for a 15-yard completion. This is better from Washington.
A run from Dillon Johnson goes nowhere. A penalty knocks Washington back five yards. Penix drops back on second down and faces pressure before rolling out to the left and throwing a risky pass into traffic.
Third and 14 … and it’s another penalty. False start. Third and 19.
Washington 3-17 Michigan, 13:28, 2nd quarter
Michigan hasn’t thrown it very much, but they try it now. Not well. It’s batted down, and Michigan settles for a 31-yard field goal that James Turner barely gets inside the left upright, a mirror image of Washington’s field goal in the first quarter.
The Huskies desperately needed that stop.
Washington 3-14 Michigan, 13:37, 2nd quarter
Washington finally stops a run near the line of scrimmage – and then they do it again, bringing up third down.
McCarthy surveys the scene and decides he can spend one of Michigan’s timeouts.
Michigan has outgained Washington 235-74.
End 1st quarter: Washington 3-14 Michigan
The Wolverines add to Washington’s misery like heavy rain rolling in from the Pacific, picking up 59 yards all too easily as blockers open holes in the Huskies defense. Blake Corum gets the honor of racing through those holes this time and is eventually caught despite making a nifty move to extend the run another 10-15 yards.
Michigan will start the second quarter deep in Washington territory, threatening to blow the game wide open right away.
Washington 3-14 Michigan, 0:21, 1st quarter
Somewhere on the internet, Washington fans are surely wondering what has happened to their coaching staff. The defense seemed ill-prepared to deal with the blocking schemes that sprang Edwards for two long TDs, and the play-calling on offense has relied heavily on throwing the ball out to an overmatched receiver. The last of these brings up fourth down, and Washington is forced to punt.
Touchdown! Washington 3-14 Michigan, 2:23, 1st quarter
Is this a replay? Michigan hands off to Donovan Edwards, who watches his blockers open a hole and then just sprints to the end zone. This one was 46 yards, five more than the first one.
Washington 3-7 Michigan, 2:25, 1st quarter
Good kickoff coverage for Washington again, and a good stop on first down. But McCarthy finds Roman Wilson in a tight window for a big 37-yard gain.
The Michigan QB nearly turns it over on the next play with a wayward pass, but it’s knocked to the turf.
Washington 3-7 Michigan, 3:56, 1st quarter
After all that, Penix changes the play at the line and ends up throwing the ball over Odunze’s head.
Grady Gross comes in for a 25-yard field goal, which is usually a formality at any level from high school onward. He barely squeaks it past the right upright.
So the Huskies don’t come away empty-handed, but the outcome still has to be a little disappointing.
Washington 0-7 Michigan, 4:04, 1st quarter
And we’ll have to wait on this third-down play, because Penix saw something he didn’t like and called timeout. That’s two of the Huskies’ three first-half timeouts already gone.
Washington 0-7 Michigan, 4:15, 1st quarter
Johnson gets the call on first down but has nowhere to go, stopped and wrapped up for no gain. They try an end-around again on second down, but they curiously run it to the short side of the field and have no room.
Third down. Big hold for the Wolverines coming up?
Washington 0-7 Michigan, 5:20, 1st quarter
The first thing Johnson is asked to do is to throw a big block on an end-around run by Jalen McMillan, who picks up 9 yards to set up third-and-1. The Huskies easily get the necessary yards, and it’s first-and-goal from the 9.
Washington 0-7 Michigan, 6:27, 1st quarter
We get a replay of Dillon Johnson’s injury. Classic case of a leg getting caught in a pile of bodies.
But the Huskies still have Rome Odunze, who takes … you guessed it, a Penix pass out toward the sideline .. and beats a couple of defenders en route to a nice 16-yard play.
And … Dillon Johnson is back in.
Washington 0-7 Michigan, 7:01, 1st quarter
Another uninspired play call, with Penix tossing the ball wide to Tybo Rogers, who is met by a Michigan defender well short of the first down.
And somehow, Rogers escapes and picks up the first down.
The bad news for the Huskies: Dillon Johnson has gone out injured. Not as bad but also not good: Penix once again tosses the ball out wide rather than looking downfield, and this one isn’t even completed. The next play is stopped by a bunch of whistles, at first apparently to call a penalty, but the referee crew clarifies that Washington managed to call a timeout before starting a play with an illegal formation.
Washington 0-7 Michigan, 8:12, 1st quarter
The Huskies pick up a first down in two plays, then hurry to the line as if to run a third play in quick succession. Instead, they stop and reconsider. The eventual play is a decided “meh,” as is the next one, and Washington faces third down.
Incidentally – remember when all the hype in college football was on Colorado and coach Deion Sanders after the lowly Buffaloes upset former national-championship contender TCU in their opener, then beat Nebraska? Yeah. They finished last in the Pac-12. Narrative dead.
Touchdown! Washington 0-7 Michigan, 10:14, 1st quarter
Donovan Edwards takes the ball and is stopped at the line of scrimmage.
Or not.
No defender wraps up the Michigan running back, and he simply pops free and sprints 41 yards for the game-opening touchdown. The extra point makes it 7-0.
That was too easy. I’m already regretting my pick.
Washington 0-0 Michigan, 11:20, 1st quarter
After another Michigan first down, the Washington defensive line answers by overwhelming the line of scrimmage to take down McCarthy four yards back.
But …
Washington 0-0 Michigan, 11:50, 1st quarter
Maybe Michigan should invest in some new chin straps. A couple of helmets pop off on their third play. On their fourth, they easily pick up their second first down.
On the next play, McCarthy fakes a handoff to Corum and fires a 10-yard pass to Cornelius Johnson. Smooth drive so far to midfield.
Kickoff
Only one minute late. The kick lands at the 1-yard line and therefore must be returned, and it’s not returned very far. Michigan will start from the 16.
The coin toss
Referee Marcus Woods leads a crew from the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is still wondering why its undefeated team wasn’t allowed into the four-team national playoff. Good thing we go to 12 teams next year.
Washington wins the toss and elects to defer its choice to the second half. Michigan will receive the kickoff.
The countdown clock is off, perhaps because we’re supposedly four minutes away from kickoff and yet both teams are just now walking through tunnels. The national anthem has been completed, though.
Lee Corso’s pick …
Those who don’t follow college football may not know this, but one of the entertaining traditions of ESPN’s coverage is the prediction of analyst Lee Corso, who has been on College Gameday since 1987 and is still there at age 88. He often punctuates the pick with colorful headgear.
This year, he just picked out a helmet rather than a mascot’s head, which is probably for the best when we consider that the Michigan mascot is a wolverine.
Will the Corso pick be a curse, giving the Huskies a championship?
For what it’s worth, I’m inclined to go with Washington. I think their schedule in the final year of the Pac-12 was good preparation for this one. They had to beat Oregon twice. They won on the road at Oregon State. They even traveled to Michigan, where they annihilated Michigan State. (As did Michigan). On the other hand, Michigan played exceptionally weak non-conference opponents and walked through the Big Ten, tested only by Penn State and Ohio State.
The play of the semifinals …
For me, it was Michigan’s Blake Corum somehow negotiating his way into the end zone in overtime against Alabama:
Thirty minutes to go …
We know this because ESPN has a countdown clock. We’ll have to assume no festivities run long.
In other college (semi-pro) to NFL (more pro) news, the NFL has set the first 18 slots in its draft order because it persists in not using a lottery system, thereby giving teams plenty of incentive to not win down the stretch when they know they’re going to miss the playoffs.
The Carolina Panthers had the worst record in the league and therefore would have the first pick … if they hadn’t traded that pick to the Chicago Bears. Chicago is up first, followed by Washington. That’s Washington, the city, not Washington, the state and university being represented in tonight’s college football playoff.
US sports must be so confusing for people from elsewhere. If you have any questions, ask away. I can promise an answer. I can’t promise a good one.
Both quarterbacks in this game are legit early-round draft prospects. Washington’s Michael Penix has spent six years in college (four at Indiana, two at Washington) after sitting out a year and getting a Covid extension. Michigan counters with J.J. McCarthy, who hasn’t said yet whether he will give up his senior year with the Wolverines to go to the NFL.
Also watch Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze if you’re dreaming of better times for your favorite NFL team.
After a thrilling NFL season finale that prompted a few questions (most notably “Hey, didn’t you used to be the Philadelphia Eagles?”), we turn our attention to other people who are basically paid to play football – just not as much, and they’re required to go to classes.
In fact, as Yahoo Sports pointed out, in the 10 years of the College Football Playoff for the Top Teams Who Didn’t Already Have a Playoff, these are the most academically accomplished schools that have made it so far.
As the son of a longtime University of Georgia faculty member, I’m compelled to point out that the Bulldogs are third.
More germane to this game – no matter what system we’ve used, we’ve rarely ended up with two unbeaten teams playing for the national championship. We have it this year. Let’s enjoy it …
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s how Monday went down in the NFL:
Arthur Smith, who inherited a rebuilding project in his first NFL head coaching job and failed to lift Atlanta from their playoff drought hours after completing his third straight losing season with the Falcons. The Washington Commanders made the next move hours later, firing Ron Rivera. The fate of others, including Bill Belichick, on Black Monday remains unclear with the New England Patriots head coach saying that “I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do, which is every day I come in, work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can.”
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