CNN
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The Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies have advanced to the College Football Playoff National Championship and will meet in the title game on January 8th in Houston.
In Monday’s two semifinal games, No. 1 Michigan defeated the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in overtime, 27-20, in the Rose Bowl, while No. 2 Washington defeated the No. 3 Texas Longhorns by 37. Defeated by 31. Inside the sugar bowl.
Here are some highlights from Monday’s semifinals.
After a hard-fought battle, the University of Michigan and the University of Alabama were tied 20-20 at the end of regulation, forcing the game known as “The Granddaddy of All” to go into overtime for the second time in the game’s illustrious history. Became.
After Michigan running back Blake Collum led the team with a touchdown, the Wolverines’ defense stopped Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe on fourth down at the 3-yard line on Jan. 8. They advanced to the national championship game in Houston.
The University of Michigan, which became the first college football program to reach 1,000 wins earlier this season, will seek its first national championship since 1997, when the Wolverines shared the title with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The NCAA credits Michigan with nine football championships, but Michigan claims 11.
This is the third straight season the Wolverines have advanced to the College Football Playoff, but Michigan has failed to advance past the semifinals in each of the past two years.
Michigan’s national title caps off a memorable and controversial season.
Earlier this year, head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for the team’s first three games as a self-imposed sanction by Michigan’s athletics department for NCAA recruiting violations. The NCAA is conducting a public investigation into the matter, which could result in additional penalties.
The NCAA launched a second investigation into the Wolverines for sign-stealing allegations in October, leading to the suspension and subsequent resignation of Michigan football analyst Connor Stallions and linebackers coach Chris Partridge. He was fired.
Although Harbaugh denied having any knowledge of the plan to steal other teams’ signs, he accepted a three-game suspension, bringing his total number of games away from Michigan to six.
Both NCAA investigations into Michigan State are ongoing.
The University of Michigan (14-0) was led by quarterback JJ McCarthy on Monday, as it has been all season. 3 touchdown passes Game against Alabama. The potential first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft completed 17 of 27 passes.
Colm also scored the Wolverines’ first touchdown, and Michigan’s defense frustrated Milroe with six sacks, five in the first half.
Still, the Wolverines needed a 75-yard touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to force overtime. So Colm handled the offensive heroics, and when Milroe ran into the middle of the line, he couldn’t find his way and the defense made the game-ending stop.
The Crimson Tide finished the season with a record of 12 wins and 2 losses.
Washington never trailed in the first half, taking the lead three times. But Texas had an answer for every score, and both teams entered halftime tied 21-21.
Led by Michael Penix Jr., one of the nation’s best passing quarterbacks, the Huskies scored 13 unanswered points in the second half, held off a late Longhorns comeback, and cruised to a heartbreaking victory at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. I got it.
Trailing by six points with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers pushed the offense into the red zone, but his 4th-and-11 pass attempt failed on the final play of the game. .
Penix Jr., a Heisman Trophy finalist, completed 29 of 38 pass attempts for 430 passing yards and two touchdowns. His 430 passing yards are second all-time in a College Football Playoff semifinal behind Joe Burrow’s 493 yards in 2019.
Like the University of Michigan, the Washington Huskies entered the semifinals with a 13-0 record, and much of that success can be attributed to Penix Jr.
Penix entered the Sugar Bowl with confidence ahead of his team’s victory.
“I’m not going to lie, their D-line is good. But at the same time, they’re not playing with our o-line,” Penix told reporters before the matchup with the Longhorns. Brett McMurphy. “They play good ball, but I can’t say we’re playing the 49ers’ D-line or the Eagles’ D-line. So we’ll be good.”
The Huskies will next face the Michigan Wolverines in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on January 8th at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Washington, which will leave the Pac-12 Conference after the season, will compete for the program’s first national championship title since 1991, when the Huskies shared the title with the Miami Hurricanes.of NCAA Although Washington believes it has won one National Football Championship; husky claims two.
