Huskies crave underdog role vs. Michigan
The Michigan and Washington programs are familiar with one another from their meetings in the Rose Bowl.
They’re about to get a whole lot more familiar.
They already were scheduled to become conference rivals when the Huskies leave the Pac-12 to join the Wolverines in the Big Ten next season.
But they’ll meet a little earlier — in the CFP Championship Game next Monday in Houston.
No. 1 Michigan defeated No. 4 Alabama 27-20 in overtime Monday afternoon in the first national semifinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. A few hours later, No. 2 Washington defeated No. 4 Texas 37-31 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win the national championship,” said Huskies quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player after passing for 430 yards and two touchdowns. “Some people probably didn’t believe us, but we continued to believe. That’s the biggest reason why I came back. This is a step toward it. Now we’ve got a chance to do it.”
Michigan and Washington have met in the Rose Bowl four times — in 1978, 1981 and 1992-93 — and they have split those meetings. Overall the Wolverines lead the series 8-5.
Oddsmakers made Michigan a 4.5-point betting favorite.
“We’re always disrespected and we’re always the underdog,” Huskies edge rusher Bralen Trice said. “We’ve proven everybody wrong, and we’ll continue to do that. That’s what we do as underdogs.”
Michigan advanced in a game mostly dictated by the defenses, and Washington won in a game mostly dictated by the offenses.
But the Wolverines have shown they have enough offense to compete in a shootout if necessary, and the Huskies have shown they can slow down offenses
enough to win a lowerscoring game.
J.J. McCarthy threw three touchdown passes as Michigan cleared a hurdle against Alabama that it had been unable two clear in either of the last two seasons as the No. 2 seed.
The Wolverines lost to TCU 51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl last year and to Georgia 34-11 in the Orange Bowl two years ago.
They bucked other trends as well. They hadn’t won in the Rose Bowl since the 1997 season, which was also the last time they played for (and won) a national championship.
“It’s been 26 years since Michigan won in this building, and the second-most appearance out of any college in the entire country playing in this game,” McCarthy said. “It’s just amazing the way it happened.”
Head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for the first three games of the season, and the school took a proactive approach to an NCAA investigation in potential violations. The coach also missed the last three games of the regular season due to an NCAA suspension for allegations of sign stealing by Michigan.
“The team was just not going to be denied,” Harbaugh said. “J.J. said it when he walked off this same podium last year in
the semifinal game. He said, “We’re going to be back.” What he told me was, ‘Not only are we going to be back, we’re going to win.’ ”
LATE MONDAY ROSE BOWL No. 1 Michigan 27, No. 4. Alabama 20 (OT):
Blake Corum ran for the winning 17-yard touchdown in overtime and the top-seeded Wolverines advanced to the College Football Playoff national championship game with an overtime win against the Crimson Tide. Corum rushed for 83 yards and also caught a touchdown pass as Michigan won a CFP contest for the first time. Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy completed 17 of 27 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns for Michigan, which lost its last six bowl games.
SUGAR BOWL No. 2 Washington 37, No. 3. Texas 31:
The Huskies rode the precision passing of record-breaking quarterback Michael Penix Jr. to the lead and then held on in the final seconds for a win over the Longhorns in New Orleans. Penix, a Heisman Trophy finalist, passed for 430 yards and two TDs, and Dillon Johnson scored twice on short runs for Washington, which won its 21st straight game.
ELSEWHERE
UCF: Former Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson
announced on social media Monday that he will transfer to UCF for his final season of eligibility. Jefferson, 22, completed 64.2 percent of his passes for the Razorbacks in 12 starts last season, throwing for 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Razorbacks finished 4-8 . ... Shortly after Jefferson’s announcement, wide receiver Kobe Hudson
announced he would return to the Knights in
2024. Hudson, a former Auburn transfer, had 44 catches for 900 yards and eight TDs this past season.
Alabama: Consensus first-team All-American linebacker Dallas Turner
said after the Rose Bowl loss that he will enter the 2024 NFL Draft. The Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year had 15.5 tackles for loss this season, including 11 sacks. Turner is projected to be among the first 10 players chosen in the NFL Draft.
LSU: Former five-star offensive tackle Lance Heard is leaving LSU. The top signing in the Tigers’ 2023 recruiting class is entering the transfer portal after one season, per multiple reports. Heard played in 12 games for LSU, including one start.