After a controversial season, the No.1 University of Michigan Wolverines have taken the national title with a 34-13 win over the No. 2 University of Washington Huskies. The Wolverines, led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, suited up to play the Huskies in the NCAA Division I Championship on Monday evening. Both teams went into the game with perfect 14-0 records in hopes to bring home the national title after winning their respective bowl games on Jan. 1. This was both teams first title game since the 1990’s, with Michigan’s last title game in 1997 and Washington’s in 1991. The attendance for Monday’s game was 72,808 overall, beating last year's attendance by nearly 200.
There was a lot of talent on both sides of the field. The top prospect to watch was Washington quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., who is thought to be a first round pick for the upcoming NFL Draft. Penix threw for 4,648 yards this regular season and was the runner up for the Heisman Trophy. Another talent for the Huskies was wide receiver, Rome Odunze, who finished the season with five straight games of 100 plus receiving yards. For the Wolverines, an NFL prospect was running back Blake Corum, who was ranked top in the nation for touchdown runs this season with 56 in the regular season. Corum broke the Michigan program record for touchdown runs in a single season. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy was another one to watch on Monday, with 140 passing yards in the game and 2,851 yards in the regular season. McCarthy finished the season with 22 touchdowns overall.
In the first quarter, the Wolverines carried the momentum with a 14-3 lead, scoring their first touchdown on the opening drive of the game with a 41-yard rush from Donovan Edwards. Edwards had the second touchdown of the game with another 46-yard rush. Jalen McMillian caught a pass from Michael Penix for the Huskies to make the score 17-10 before the half.
To start the second half, Will Johnson for the Wolverines picked off a pass from Penix at Washington’s 32-yard line. The third quarter ended with just a 10-point lead by Michigan 20-10. There was minimal scoring early in the fourth quarter. Corum had a 12-yard touchdown rush with just seven minutes left in the game. Penix threw his second pick of the game to give Michigan possession with less than five minutes to go, the Wolverines took advantage with another touchdown rush from Corum to pull away 34-13 to become the 2023 national champions.
Michigan added another national title into the books to become one of the most winning teams in college football history, as the Wolverines are now the only program in history to have reached over 1,000 wins. Blake Corum and Will Johnson took home the offensive and defensive MVP honors for Michigan after the championship win. Corum scored a touchdown in every single game in the season and Johnson picked off Penix to keep the momentum. As for the Huskies, the team ended the season 14-1 after having a 4-8 record two years prior. Quarterback Michael Penix will be one to watch heading into the NFL Draft in April.
Edited by: Lydia Manning
Content creation: Samantha Lopez
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