CAN THE WOLVERINES REPEAT NEXT SEASON?
After winning its first national championship in 26 years, Michigan heads into an uncertain future.
Who stays, who goes and is a repeat possible in an expanded and loaded Big Ten that will include the Washington team the Wolverines beat 34-13 in the national championship game?
The biggest question after Michigan wrapped up a 15-0 season is the status of coach Jim Harbaugh. The ninth-year coach has led his alma mater to three straight Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances and is the top target for NFL teams with head coach openings.
Several players also are considering whether to enter the NFL Draft or return to school with NCAA sanctions possibly coming.
Third-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy is widely projected to be a late first-round pick if he decides to declare. Fourth-year running back Blake Corum strongly considered entering the draft a year ago and indicated Tuesday he would move on after being named offensive player of the game Monday night.
Receiver Roman Wilson and four of the five starting offensive linemen also have decisions to make.
The Wolverines’ defense led the nation in fewest points and yards allowed per game and could lose as many as eight starters depending on how many choose to declare.
One who will return is secondyear cornerback Will Johnson, the defensive player of the game Monday. He said there is enough talent waiting in the wings to make Michigan a factor again.
Final poll
The Wolverines (15-0) received all 61 first-place votes as the only unbeaten team in the country. Washington (14-1) was second, the Huskies’ best final ranking since finishing No. 2 in 1991. That year, Washington was No. 1 in the final coaches’ poll to claim its only national title.
Texas (12-2) was third, its best ranking since finishing second in 2009. Georgia (13-1) was fourth and Alabama (12-2), which ended the Bulldogs’ 29-game winning streak in the Southeastern Conference title games to make the playoff, was fifth.
Florida State (13-1) and Oregon (12-2) finished tied for sixth. The Seminoles’ only loss came in a lopsided Orange Bowl against Georgia after they became the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be left out of the playoff and many of their top players opted out of the bowl.
Missouri was eighth and Mississippi was ninth to give the SEC four teams in the top 10. For the Tigers, it was their best finish since landing at No. 5 in 2013.
Ohio State was 10th, the Buckeyes’ worst final ranking since they were 12th in 2013.
Clemson moved back into the poll at No. 20 to extend its streak of being ranked to end the season to 13 years, the second-longest in the nation behind Alabama’s 16.
Entering draft
Alabama running back Jase McClellan is entering the NFL Draft.
McClellan had the most productive of his four seasons with Alabama in 2023, rushing for a teambest 890 yards and eight TDs.