Strength vs. strength for national title
The College Football Playoff national championship game between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington is a contrast in styles and a matchup of strength versus strength when Michael Penix Jr. faces the Wolverines’ defense.
“You get a schematic, professional-style matchup and to me you get the Baltimore Ravens versus the Kansas City Chiefs,” said Fox analyst Brock Huard, who has called games for both teams this season. “The Huskies in purple masquerade as the Chiefs and the guys in blue masquerade as the Baltimore Ravens.”
Michigan (14-0) is a 4 1/2-point favorite over Washington (14-0), according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
When Washington has the ball
Getting pressure on Penix is difficult. Washington’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award as the best group in the country and tackles Troy Fautanu and Roger Rosengarten provide excellent edge protection.
When teams do pressure Penix, he is often unfazed. In the Sugar Bowl, Texas didn’t sack him once in 38 pass attempts and while it might have looked like the Longhorns got almost no push, they actually registered 16 pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. When pressured Penix was incredible, completing 60% of his passes at 10 yards per attempt.
“Can Michigan strike up enough interior pressure and edge pressure to actually get to Penix, not just make him uncomfortable? And then can the safeties and cornerbacks find those layers of wide receivers and force Penix to make the impossible throw … and not give (the Huskies) any gimmes,” college football data analyst Parker Fleming said on The AP Top 25 College Football Podcast.
Texas got most if its pressure from the interior with powerful tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II. Michigan is deeper up front and better off the edges. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter gave Alabama fits in the Rose Bowl by making it difficult to identify what was coming from where. Minter succeeded Mike Macdonald, who left Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh to work for Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
Huard, who played quarterback at Washington, said Michigan’s defense will test Penix and Huskies offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb as problemsolvers.
“It’s an NFL-type defense, which is a matchup mindset, which is change the picture pre- and post-snap, which is make it very difficult on the quarterback to read and react,” Huard said.
Washington’s veteran offensive line has allowed only 11 sacks for a team that throws it as much as any in the country. And while the Huskies’ deep passing game can be spectacular, Penix and Co. are good all over the
receiver and kick returner to quarterback as a senior. He was recruited by multiple Division I college programs before accepting a scholarship to play at Boise State.
At 6-foot and 185 pounds, Pope played mostly on special teams for the Broncos. He appeared in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, in a 38-30 win over Arizona, and concluded his playing career by playing in 12 games in 2016 as a redshirt senior.
In 2017, when Palm Desert native and former NFL cornerback James Dockery was hired to helm the football program at Xavier Prep, he handpicked Pope to help him build a solid foundation.
“Taylor is a football nerd,” Dockery said recently. “He’s always found a way to find an edge and play the game within the game. He’s learning from the best and how he’s going against it as well.”
After two seasons coaching with Dockery and playing a role in the Saints reaching a CIF Southern Section semifinal in 2018, Pope accepted a position at Fresno State as a graduate assistant coach under Kalen DeBoer. Kirby Moore, who was on the coaching staff at Boise State while Pope was there, had become the Bulldogs’ receivers’ coach. Lee Marks, the running backs coach, was also at Boise State while Pope played.
Pope then left Fresno State for Washington when DeBoer was hired as the Huskies head coach following the 2021 season. With the move, Pope was elevated from graduate assistant to a fulltime coaching role.
“Winning the Pac-12 championship and being here now,” Pope said, “it’s been a really cool experience.”
Pope said that the support he’s had back home in the Coachella Valley has been almost overwhelming. His parents still live in La Quinta, Dockery and family members and others who he’s coached with have been just a phone call or text away for advice. Even former players Pope has coached have been a part of a support system that has helped lead him to this point, he said.
He said that his favorite part of the job, even more than the nerdy football stuff, is seeing people around him succeed and working together toward a common goal.
The goal, Pope said, is to one day become a head coach in the collegiate ranks. That is a long ways away, he admits, but he sees this opportunity coaching at Washington, and Monday’s championship game, as a big steppingstone toward that and a memory that will last a lifetime.
Dockery and others will be rooting him on. “Super excited,” Dockery said. “Go Dawgs!”
“It’s awesome to be someone from the valley, and to show that this is possible,” Pope said. “I didn’t expect to be where I am, to be honest with you. Even to start this season. But you put your mind to something and take things day by day and some good things can happen.”