Why the Michigan Wolverines are the champions
My preseason pick panned out, overcoming the doubters (including myself) and the "adversity" they faced along the way. How did they do it?
Hey, I totally nailed my National Championship pick this season.
What’s that you say? I also picked Washington the day of the game and expressed grave doubts about Michigan due to their pass protection and lack of explosive passing heading into the playoffs? Well…you win some and you lose some.
Michigan’s path to winning this National Championship is being described as unique and unorthodox from most we’ve seen in the last several years. It really wasn’t.
Some have said that Michigan just proved development is king and elite recruiting isn’t the real trick to winning titles. Others will probably note Michigan’s throwback blend of run game and defense en route to winning. Certainly that stood out to me given their lack of elite outside receiver play. I will say, if this Michigan team had the exact same composition plus a Rome Odunze or even a Xavier Worthy (transferred out to Texas!) they might have been an all-time great team to discuss up there with 2019 LSU.
Ultimately Michigan followed a similar path as the 2021 and 2022 Georgia Bulldogs, or the 2017 Alabama Crimson Tide. Their trenches were loaded with NFL players and their defense employed nickel and dime sub-packages while employing pro-caliber pass defense schemes.
My takeaway will be the Wolverines demonstrated that to win at the highest level, you either field an elite passing attack or you field an elite passing defense. Let’s talk about that and some of the other details in this Championship for the nation’s all-time winningest program.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to America's War Game to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.