A pair of unbeatens will meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship, as No. 1 seed Michigan will take on No. 2 seed Washington in the Jan. 8 title game at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The 14-0 Wolverines beat Alabama, 27-20, in overtime at the Rose Bowl, and the 14-0 Huskies held off Texas, 37-31, in the Sugar Bowl on Monday. Michigan and Washington are each playing in their first championship game in the CFP era.
Here are three draft-focused takeaways on the national title matchup:
1) Quarterbacks take center stage
Neither team would be in the national title game without the clutch playmaking ability of their quarterbacks. And their styles are quite different.
Michigan's J.J. McCarthy is not a prototypical NFL Draft prospect, and as a junior he has eligibility remaining.
Evaluators are split on McCarthy's pro potential, but he possesses some intriguing traits. At 6-foot-3, 197 pounds, he's a lean, athletic passer who does his best work on the move. His accuracy is scattershot at times, but McCarthy has a knack for delivering in big moments, as he did in leading a late touchdown drive to force overtime against the Crimson Tide.
Washington QB Michael Penix Jr. finished second in the Heisman Trophy Award voting behind LSU’s Jayden Daniels. The 6-3, 218-pound lefty has thrown for 35 touchdowns, including two in the Sugar Bowl, along with 420 yards and no turnovers.
Penix is a deep-ball artist with pretty downfield accuracy when he has time to throw. He can generate some RPMs on his throws and is typically strong in the pocket, throwing with rhythm and accuracy, but those tend to wane the more Penix is asked to create. He's a good athlete who can climb the pocket, but he isn't a frequent scrambler or designed runner.
A sixth-year senior who turns 24 in May, Penix won't be a fit for every team and every offensive system. He also has a history of knee injuries dating back to his time at Indiana that must be vetted carefully by team medical staffs. But in the right timing, pocket-based pass game, Penix could thrive.
NFL scouts will watch this game closely. Neither quarterback is considered a perfectly clean evaluation, but each offers considerable intrigue for the pro game.
2) Loaded Huskies offense faces tremendous test vs. Michigan
Michigan's defense hasn't allowed more than 24 points in a game this season. Washington scored 24 or more in all but two games this season, including three 50-point outings.
The Huskies revolve around the throwing of Penix, but this is no one-man show. They feature the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line (keep an eye on left tackle Troy Fautanu, who might be tried at guard at the Senior Bowl) and a trio of outstanding receivers, led by senior Rome Odunze.
With each college season, the 6-3, 215-pound Odunze added polish to his game and tricks to his bag. He's able to attack all parts of the field, accelerates through the catch and has outstanding body control and burst. Odunze also plays hungry and is extremely tough, returning from a broken rib and punctured lung two weeks later. He could end up one of the highest-drafted seniors in 2024, possibly in the top 10 overall.
Redshirt sophomore Ja'Lynn Polk and senior Jalen McMillan round out the excellent receiving corps. The Odunze-Polk-McMillan trio combined for 26 TD receptions and nearly 3,200 yards this season. Tight end Jack Westover is a reliable chain mover who had six catches versus Texas, including a few clutch ones.
Big-framed running back Dillon Johnson scored two touchdowns against the Longhorns, running hard when he got chances before leaving the game late in serious pain. If he can go against the Wolverines, he can be an effective changeup as a slasher behind a good run-blocking group.
Michigan has future NFL talent on all three levels, starting up front.
Defensive tackle Kris Jenkins has NFL bloodlines (former Panthers second-rounder Kris Jenkins is his father) and ability. He's been fairly unproductive in a deep DT rotation this season but had a sack and a good tackle on Alabama QB Jalen Milroe late in regulation.
Edges Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor have NFL ability but in different packages. Harrell is athletic and rangy in a leaner package, but with decent length and a nose for the quarterback. McGregor is longer at 6-foot-6 and 267 pounds and is starting to put it together, with two sacks against Bama, including a massive one late to force the final field goal before Michigan tied it.
There's a pair of quality linebackers in Junior Colston and Michael Barrett. Colston has the higher NFL profile. He's athletic and a fairly reliable tackler, even though he can be overaggressive.
The secondary is pretty stacked, with talent at cornerback (Mike Sainristil and Josh Wallace) and safety (Makari Page and Rod Moore). Sainristil is the heartbeat of the Michigan defense as an undersized but ferocious defender. In the NFL he'll be a slot, but he plays inside and out for the Wolverines. Moore is a rangy player on the rise. He broke up a long ball early against Alabama to save a touchdown. The 6-4, 208-pound Paige is one of many talented underclassmen who could use more seasoning.
3) Michigan's RB duo will test Huskies defense
The Wolverines feature a pair of talented running backs with NFL futures in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards.
Corum returned to school after suffering a torn meniscus in November 2022, and he ran for 25 touchdowns as a senior, including the tenacious game-winner in overtime of the Rose Bowl victory over Alabama, even if he wasn't quite as explosive this season as he was in 2022. Corum hasn't been featured often as a receiver, but he got Michigan on the board in that game with his first receiving TD of the season (and just the third in 44 career games).
The 5-8, 213-pound Corum will be headed to the Senior Bowl, and he could emerge as one of the top backs in a senior crop that is solid but lacking star power. We're waiting to hear the plans of several underclassman backs, including Edwards, who had a strangely inefficient season but has NFL talent.
Edwards has a bigger frame at 6-foot and 202 pounds, is used on some occasional gadget plays and has more receiving production. But he's had trouble getting unlocked this season as a runner and often takes a backseat to Corum in key spots.
Washington's defense can give up some ground against quality run games, but the Huskies have a number of impactful front-seven players, including edges Bralen Trice and Zion Tupuola-Fetui.
The 6-3, 280-pound Trice had a massive imprint on the Huskies' Sugar Bowl victory, with two sacks, a big forced fumble in the third quarter and an even bigger fumble recovery in the fourth. He's a high-effort rusher with enough tenacity and instincts to offset average athletic traits. ZTF is an athletic rusher whose physical traits are more enticing than the total package.
The Huskies have other solid contributors up front in defensive tackle Tuli Letuligasenoa and linebackers Carson Bruener and Edefuan Ulofoshio.
Where Washington really struggled this season was defending the pass. Michigan doesn't have an elite passing game, but wide receivers Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson can have success against the Huskies' secondary. That group came up big late against Texas but was tested all game long.
