Tomorrow night we will be treated to a Michigan-Washington national championship game.
No Georgia. No Alabama. No Clemson. No Ohio State.
Those four schools have made up 15 of the 18 previous participants of the past nine (the only nine) College Football Playoffs national championship games. Only Oregon (2015), LSU (2020) and TCU (2023) have pushed through to reach the title game ... until this year. In fact, 18 of the last 19 national champions have hailed from the south -- only Ohio State doesn't hail from the stretch of the country from Texas to South Carolina. Well, we get a non-south champ once again.
This is the first time either Michigan (who lost in the CFP semifinals the last two seasons) and Washington (their only previous CFP appearances was in the 2016 season) have reached this title game. Michigan's last national championship was a split national championship in 1997, while Washington last won a split title in 1991.
Not only does this feel different because of two new participants, this may also feel like an outlier for other reasons. While Michigan is one of the legendary programs in college football, win or lose this could be Jim Harbaugh's final season in Ann Arbor. The pull of the NFL is strong for him and with a lot of dark clouds surrounding him this past year it could finally be time for him to take a pro job. Now, that doesn't mean that Michigan can't get back without him, but remember what the Wolverines were when they hired Harbaugh and his focus on getting his program back to the elite level. He's done that, but it may be hard to maintain that once he leaves.
As for Washington, there will be a lot of changes upcoming for the Huskies. The next time Washington faces Michigan, they will be doing so as Big Ten foes. Yes, this is the final hurrah for the Pac-12 as the Huskies (along with Oregon, USC and UCLA) will move to the Big Ten next season. While this program will still be great, winning in the Big Ten will be more difficult than what they've been used to. Washington will continue to battle Oregon and USC for conference titles while also dealing with Ohio State, Penn State and, yes, Michigan, for those honors.
Of course the 12-team playoff coming takes the pressure of winning the conference for either of these programs off the table. You just got to play well to get in. But this doesn't feel like we are witnessing another emerging program like Georgia or an Alabama-Clemson type national rivalry. That's okay. These have been two great teams this season and worthy champions. Michigan has been building towards this moment for a few years now. Washington added their new coach and transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. before last season and the offense has vaulted to the top of the nation due to their big play ability.
This could be the beginning of new power programs in Ann Arbor and/or Seattle. Maybe this is their one shining moment that they haven't had since 1997 or 1991, respectively, and it will be a while before we see them in this spot again. Either way, this will be a fantastic game with a great champion that we should all enjoy ... even if it doesn't have a southern team or the Buckeyes in it.
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