Michigan bounced back from a year riddled with controversy to secure a national championship, with the Wolverines comfortably beating the Washington Huskies in Houston on Monday night; Jim Harbaugh led his side to glory as speculation mounts the former 49ers coach will return to the NFL
Tuesday 9 January 2024 10:34, UK
Blake Corum ran for 134 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns as Jim Harbaugh and Michigan won a national championship by beating Washington 34-13 on Monday night.
No 1 Michigan - undeterred by suspensions and a sign-stealing case that shadowed the program - completed a three-year climb to a national title by beating No 2 Washington in the College Football Playoff title game NRG Stadium in Houston.
The Wolverines (15-0) sealed their first national title since 1997 when Corum, who scored the winning touchdown in overtime against Alabama in the Rose Bowl semi-final, blasted in from the one-yard line with 3:37 left to put Michigan up by 21, ostensibly sealing victory.
After nine seasons coaching his alma mater and in his third consecutive playoff appearance, Harbaugh delivered the title so many expected when he took over a struggling powerhouse in 2015 - despite missing six regular-season games this season while serving separate suspensions. After numerous firings in the NFL in recent weeks, rumours are accelerating about a return to the league for Harbaugh, who went 44-19-1 as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, leading the team to three straight NFC Championship Game appearances and one Super Bowl.
Harbaugh's team was dominant on both ends from the start in Houston, as the Wolverines ran for 303 yards against Washington (14-1), and their defense held Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies' prolific passing game to just one touchdown while intercepting the Heisman Trophy runner-up twice.
"There are more than 100 Michigan men who are on this team," Harbaugh said. "What they've done is amazing. They will forever be known as national champions."
Penix's remarkable six-year college career ended with maybe his worst performance of the season. Usually unfazed by pressure, Penix was not nearly as precise against a Michigan defense that took away his signature deep throws. Penix finished 27 for 51 for 255 yards and a touchdown.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy had a modest game, throwing for 140 yards and running for 31. But it was enough for him to improve to 27-1 as a starter for the Wolverines.
Two long touchdown runs by Donovan Edwards and 229 yards rushing in the first quarter put the Wolverines up 17-3 early in the second and conjured up memories of last year's historic Georgia blowout of TCU.
Washington, the Pac-12 champions, though, regrouped and didn't allow the Wolverines another point in the first half. After the Huskies stopped Michigan on a fourth-and-two from the UW 38 with 4:46 left in the second quarter, Penix went to work.
He found Jalen McMillan on a fourth-and-goal with 42 seconds left for a three-yard touchdown. After being on the verge of getting buried by the Wolverines, the Huskies fans sang along to "Who Let the Dogs Out," happily down by just 17-10 at half-time.
Will Johnson's interception of Penix on the first play of the second half gave Michigan another opportunity to open up a two-touchdown lead, but the Huskies forced another field goal by James Turner to make it 20-10.
Michigan nursed a touchdown lead until halfway through the fourth quarter, when the team put together a 71-yard drive, capped by Corum's tackle-breaking 12-yard touchdown which finally gave the Wolverines some room with a 27-13 lead and 7:09 left.
Corum, the engine of ground-and-pound offense and heart and soul of a team loaded with fourth-, fifth- and even sixth-year players, missed the CFP last year with a knee injury. He was named offensive player of the national title game in the final four-team College Football Playoff before it expands to 12 teams next year.
"Michigan, this is for you," Corum told the Wolverines fans.
Michigan seemed to be steaming toward a third consecutive Big Ten championship and playoff appearance when in October it was revealed the NCAA was investigating the program for potentially breaking rules that prohibit in-person scouting of opponents and using video equipment to attempt to decode opponents' play signals.
The scandal turned Connor Stalions, the low-level Michigan recruiting staffer accused of orchestrating the scheme, into a household name and threatened to derail the Wolverines' season. The NCAA process will linger well into 2024 and it is unknown what penalties Michigan could face. The Big Ten, though, decided to act more quickly and punished Michigan by suspending Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season, including matchups with Penn State and rival Ohio State.
Michigan at first said it would fight the penalties in court, but within days backed down and accepted the punishment. The Wolverines were undeterred. With offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore taking Harbaugh's place, it became Michigan vs Everybody and nobody could stop the Wolverines.
Harbaugh returned for the postseason, completed the mission and got to celebrate with his father, Jack - himself a former college football coach - as he accepted the trophy.
"Who has it better than us?" Jack Harbaugh asked the fans during the trophy ceremony. They replied with a boisterous: "Nobody!"
Now the question is whether Harbaugh has coached his alma mater for the last time, with the NFL seemingly beckoning the former 49ers coach again.
