Little doubt who Gov. Whitmer’s rooting for
The Huskies flag is flying over the Washington State Capitol
The Washington Huskies’ purple and gold flag has been flying over the state’s Capitol building in Olympia since 9 a.m.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation Friday that the flag would be raised over the city first thing this morning.
Michigan, Washington not entirely unfamiliar Championship Game foes
Despite being first-time CFP Championship combatants, the Wolverines and Huskies do have some shared recent history — encounters that span two very different games.
Washington and Michigan squared off early in the 2021 season during non-conference play. Michigan star running back Blake Corum paced the Wolverines to a lopsided 31-10 victory in Ann Arbor, running for three touchdowns and 171 yards against a Washington team that barely resembles the 2023 squad.
Perhaps more interestingly, in the midst of the late-starting, pandemic-shortened 2020 college football season, current Washington quarterback Michael Penix faced off against this same Michigan team — as the leader of Indiana’s resurgent Big Ten campaign. Penix, Jr. showed the penchant for game-changing plays he’d come to be known for by passing for three touchdowns and 342 yards in the Hoosiers’ 38-21 victory. Penix later transferred to Washington after 17 starts at Indiana and finished second in this season’s Heisman Trophy balloting.
Tornado watch in effect as fans file into NRG Stadium
The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for Houston and Harris counties in Texas for tonight, and less than two hours before kickoff, that weather is beginning to complicate things a bit for fans at the CFP title game.
Users on X have shared video of fans rushing to get into NRG Stadium, tonight’s venue for the CFP title game, as skies darkened around the stadium.
This game hasn’t gone to the dogs, but Dubs would like it to
Big Blue feeling the love on way to the big game
1 team will eat like a champion tonight
Michigan running back Blake Corum leaned hard into food metaphors to explain his team’s appetite for victory.
“We’re ready to eat our last meal,” he told reporters recently. “We’re all hungry. We’re not full at all. We’re staving.”
Corum added that the Wolverines will not rest on the glory of their thrilling OT win over Alabama.
“Last week’s game was cool, last week’s game was fun and we can talk about that,” he said. “But we have to stick at the task at hand right now and focus on the job that we have to finish.”
Title game in Houston features two teams from the North
Tonight’s title game — featuring teams from Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Seattle —breaks up what’s been a decidedly Southern affair for years.
After the first CFP title game in 2015, when Ohio State beat Oregon, the only schools to participate in the next five championship contests were Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and LSU.
Alabama downed Ohio State in 2021 before Georgia beat the Crimson Tide and TCU in, 2022 and 2023, before tonight’s Michigan-Washington matchup.
Elite units: Washington’s offense vs. Michigan’s defense
Michigan comes into tonight’s game with the nation’s best defense and will face a similarly elite unit on the other side of the ball.
The Wolverines have surrendered just 243.1 yards per game, tops in the FBS. Michigan’s stout defensive line played a key role in the team’s Rose Bowl win over Alabama.
Led by Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix Jr., Washington rolls into Houston with the nation’s No. 10 offense, averaging 473.6 yards a game.
A first CFP final appearance for both teams
Both Michigan and Washington are making debut appearances in the championship game in the playoff era. Michigan has made it to the semifinals the last two seasons.
The two teams have each earned national championships in years past but not since the Bowl Championship Series was formed in 1998, ushering in the era of an NCAA top-division football championship game.
It would also be the Pac-12’s first — and only — national championship win in the CFP era if the Huskies prevail. Either way, next season, the Big Ten will claim this season’s reigning champ, as Washington is set to switch conferences with the Pac-12’s collapse.
How to watch the College Football Playoff National Championship
The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines will face off against the No. 2 Washington Huskies in tonight’s College Football Playoff National Championship, a first appearance in the title game for both teams.
The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET at NRG Stadium in Houston. You can watch on ESPN or the ESPN app.
