Michigan football vs. Washington predictions: How experts are picking CFP championship game

The 2023 college football comes down to one final contest: No. 1 Michigan (14-0, 9-0 in Big Ten play) vs. No. 2 Washington (14-0, 9-0 Pac-12).

At first glance, Monday's College Football Playoff championship game might seem like a contrast of styles between Michigan's fearsome front seven and grounding offensive approach vs. Washington's high-flying aerial attack, led by Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix Jr. In reality, the battle between the Wolverines' offensive and defensive lines and Huskies' is likely where the game will be won.

Washington has a potent offensive arsenal, all of which is made possible by the team's Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line. Thousand-yard running back Dillon Johnson, who is expected to play after an injury scare vs. Texas, will also be key to mixing up Washington's ground game as Penix takes aim at his talented receiving corps, led by Rome Odunze.

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Conversely, Michigan will likely continue to operate its offense through running back Blake Corum in conjunction with smart passing plays from J.J. McCarthy. Of course, no amount of predictions will determine how Monday's CFP title game between Michigan and Washington — which in 2024 and beyond will be Big Ten opponents — will play out.

That hasn't stopped the college football world at large from chiming in with predictions for Monday's game. With that, here's a roundup of how experts throughout the country are picking the Wolverines vs. the Huskies:

Michigan football vs. Washington predictions

Detroit Free Press

• Tony Garcia: Michigan 34, Washington 26

• Carlos Monarrez: Michigan 30, Washington 23

• Rainer Sabin: Michigan 30, Washington 27

• Jeff Seidel: Michigan 28, Washington 24

• Shawn Windsor: Michigan 34, Washington 31

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USA TODAY

• Scooby Axson: Washington 34, Michigan 24

• Jace Evans: Michigan 35, Washington 31

• Paul Myerberg: Michigan 27, Washington 23

• Erick Smith: Michigan 34, Washington 24

• Eddie Timanus: Washington 27, Michigan 21

• Dan Wolken: Michigan 27, Washington 21

ESPN

Thirty-two of ESPN's 48 polled experts predicted a Washington win, with ESPN writing, "Although Michigan is the betting favorite and has the advantage based on various metrics, our experts sided with Washington by a 2-1 margin. The Huskies were the pick of 32 of our 48 prognosticators.

"Of those who picked Washington, 24 of 32 (75%) expect the winning margin to be four points or less. Michigan backers are a bit more confident, with 7 of 16 calling for a victory of more than four points." For a full list of ESPN experts' predictions, click here.

The Athletic

Eleven of 20 experts from The Athletic picked Michigan to beat Washington, with many in favor of the Wolverines pointing to the defense's front seven as the ultimate decider in the contest. Several of the experts also predicted Corum and the Michigan run game to grind out enoughd rives to keep Penix from airing the ball out.

• Nicole Auerbach: Michigan win

• Jayna Bardahl: Washington win

• Matt Brown: Michigan win

• Richard Deitsch: Michigan win (34-27)

• Terry Dwyer: Michigan win

• Tyler Holston: Washington win

• Chris Kamrani: Washington win

• Mitch Light: Washington win

• Stewart Mandel: Washington win

• Austin Meek: Michigan win

• Grace Raynor: Washington win

• Joe Rexrode: Michigan win

• Pete Sampson: Washington win

• Mitch Sherman: Michigan win

• Daniel Shirley: Washington win

• Audrey Snyder: Michigan win

• Jesse Temple: Michigan win

• David Ubben: Washington win

• Chris Vannini: Michigan win

• Justin Williams: Michigan win

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Fox Sports

• RJ Young: Washington

• Laken Litman: Washington

• Michael Cohen: Michigan

• Bryan Fischer: Washington

CBS Sports

• David Cobb: Michigan 28, Washington 20

• Dennis Dodd: Michigan 27, Washington 24

• Tom Fornelli: Michigan 31, Washington 24

• Chip Patterson: Michigan 31, Washington 24

• Barrett Sallee: Washington 30, Michigan 27

• Shehan Jeyarajah: Washington 31, Michigan 27

• Will Backus: Washington 35, Michigan 30

• Dean Straka: Washington 34, Michigan 28

• Jerry Palm: Washington 31, Michigan 28

• Cameron Salerno: Washington 31, Michigan 24

• Jack Crosby: Michigan 31, Washington 21

• Ben Kercheval: Washington 30, Michigan 28

• Chris Dukes: Washington 38, Michigan 31

The Sporting News

• Bill Bender: Michigan 35, Washington 28

• Bill Trocchi: Washington 33, Michigan 31

• Mike DeCourcy: Michigan 28, Washington 22

• Crissy Froyd: Michigan 34, Washington 27

• Edward Sutelan: Washington 35, Michigan 31

• Nick Musial: Michigan 30, Washington 24

• Vinnie Iyer: Washington 27, Michigan 24

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football vs. Washington predictions: How experts are picking game