Michigan football runs over Washington 34-13, wins 2023 national championship

HOUSTON — There's no problem here, not for the Wolverines.

Michigan football's season full of tumult and chaos, scandal and smears, ended with confetti falling, tears streaming and one resounding message: We told you so. Michigan ran over Washington early, then late, 34-13, in Monday night's College Football Playoff title game at NRG Stadium in Houston to win the 2023 national championship in Jim Harbaugh's ninth season in Ann Arbor.

It's the program's first national title since it went 12-0 in 1997 and marks just the fourth time in NCAA history an FBS champion has gone 15-0 (Clemson, 2018; LSU, 2019; Georgia, 2022).

"It couldn't have gone better," Harbaugh said afterwards. "It went exactly how we wanted it to go to win every game. The off-the-field issues, we're innocent and we stood strong and tall because we knew we were innocent. And I'd like to point that out."

The Wolverines, whose ground game this year didn't quite match its results the past two seasons, put it all together when it mattered most. They ran 38 times for 303 yards and four scores, which included three rushes of more than 40 yards in the first quarter.

Donovan Edwards, most regarded for his two-touchdown performance against Ohio State in 2022, will now be known for his title-delivering evening in Houston. The West Bloomfield alumnus took his first touch of the night 41 yards to the house, which was announced as the second longest touchdown run in CFP title game history.

That record stood for less than 8 minutes, as he ripped off a 46-yard burst to the right side to put U-M up by two scores with 2:23 remaining in the first quarter.

"I was so excited for Donovan because I just felt like he needed that," fellow running back Blake Corum said. "Trusted agent, known friend for life. That's my guy. I'm glad I got to share the backfield with Donovan. I wish Donovan nothing but the best, if he ever needed anything, best believe I'd be there for him.

The Huskies had whittled U-M's lead to seven points when James Turner connected on a 38-yard field goal with 11:55 to play in the third, only for Washington to counter with a 45-yard field goal of its own 3 minutes later to make it 20-13.

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The Huskies got the ball with a chance to take the lead with 11:52 remaining, and on the second play of the drive Michael Penix Jr. appeared to find wide receiver Rome Odunze on a 40-yard pass, but it was negated by a holding penalty.

Three plays later, the Huskies had to punt. On the first play of the next drive, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy found Colston Loveland up the left seam, as he corralled the pass with two hands over his head, tucked the ball tight and rumbled for a gain of 41, U-M's longest pass play of the day.

Three plays later, Corum, U-M's most decorated running back in history and modern touchdown record-holder, broke a tackle and trucked his way in from 12 yards out to go up 27-13 with 7:09 to play.

"Speechless," he told the Free Press. "Blessed. God blessed this team."

Corum finished with 21 rushes for 134 yards and two touchdowns while Edwards ran six times for 104 yards and two scores; they became the first teammates to run for more than 100 yards in a CFP title game.

Defensively, the Wolverines held one of the nation's most potent attacks to just 20 rushes for 46 yards (2.3 yards per attempt) and two of 14 third-down conversions, and forced a momentum-changing turnover on the first play of the second half.

Penix, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, completed just 27 of 51 passes for 255 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

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Defense steps up

Washington entered play with the No. 1 passing attack (350 yards per game) and a top-10 scoring offense (37.6 points per game), but the Huskies hadn't seen a defense such as U-M's, which ranked No. 1 in scoring and No. 2 against the pass.

The Huskies needed 14 plays to go 67 yards on their opening drive — a drive that would have stalled at midfield if Keon Sabb hadn't missed a third-and-5 tackle — and eventually had to settle for a 25-yard field goal when a third-and-goal shot to the end zone came up incomplete.

Even when things went wrong for Jesse Minter's unit early, they went right.

The Huskies faced fourth-and-7 at the Michigan 47 midway through the second quarter, when there was a miscommunication in U-M's secondary. It left a wide-open Odunze streaking downfield. But Penix's throw was a beat behind the Biletnikoff Award runner-up and the two couldn't connect on the would-be walk-in touchdown.

On the next possession, Kenneth Grant recorded a sack on a bull rush up the middle, which quickly forced another three-and-out.

"He is the best defensive coordinator in the nation," Grant said of Minter postgame. "We proved we're the best defense in the nation. Not only the players, the coaches, the coaches played a big part in it."

U-M almost looked as if it would hold Washington without a touchdown in the opening half, but the Huskies put together an 11-play, 61-yard drive to score with 42 seconds left.

Mike Sainristil was flagged for pass interference to set UW up inside the Michigan 10, then on fourth-and-goal, Penix found Jalen McMillan to cut the deficit to 17-10.

Will Johnson came up with an interception to start the second half and from there the Huskies never got much going. After their second-half field goal, the Huskies punted on three consecutive possessions, before one last gasp with 7 minutes to play.

Penix found Odunze on a 44-yard bomb down the right side to get into U-M territory, but a false start on the next play put Washington behind the sticks. U-M called a timeout ahead of fourth-and-13 with 4:53 to play when off-setting penalties led to another play.

On that play, Sainristil came away with an 81-yard interception, his sixth of the year, to seal the victory.

"When a play needs to be made, Mike Sainristil has made it," Harbaugh said. "When a play needs to be made, Blake Corum makes it. When a play needs to be made, Will Johnson makes it. When a play needs to be made, J.J. McCarthy makes it.

"We've just got great players. We've got great players that unanimously support each other."

Offense does enough

McCarthy wasn't as crisp as he was against Alabama in the CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl, but he made just enough plays.

He completed both off his passes on the opening eight-play, 84-yard touchdown drive, then connected with Roman Wilson on a 37-yard post route out of the left slot in the first quarter which set up Edwards' second score.

After a tough stretch in the middle of the contest that saw him complete just two of 10 passes, McCarthy hit three in a row in the second half, then later when backed up had scrambles of 22 yards and 12 yards. Those didn't lead to points, but they did flip the field and eat up clock.

Then, in the fourth, he found Loveland for the game's deepest pass play.

McCarthy completed 10 of 18 passes for 140 yards.

"I'll leave y'all with this," Corum said while standing on a stage as maize-and-blue confetti fluttered in the air around him. "Business is finished."

Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football runs over Washington, wins national championship