HOUSTON — As the gold confetti fell from the roof of the NRG Stadium, chants of Let’s Go Blue, Let’s Go Blue could be heard from every corner of the building Monday night.
The Michigan Wolverines are the College Football Playoff national champions.
“We came back this year because we had unfinished business,” said Michigan running back Blake Corum. “Business is finished.”
In a game where the No.1-ranked Wolverines dominated from the start, they left the building with a convincing 34-13 win over No.2 Washington in front of 72,808 fans in attendance for the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship.
This capped a season in which the Wolverines stayed the course even under the cloud of an NCAA investigation, a probe by their own Big Ten conference and a six-game suspension of their head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Michigan, which finished the season 15-0, captured its first national championship since 1997 when it shared the title with Nebraska. This is also the first outright national championship for one of the winningest college football programs in the history of the game.
“Glorious win, I could not be prouder or happier of our team, 15-0,” said Harbaugh, who served two separate three-game suspensions this season. “Took on all comers. Last one standing. It’s a great feeling.”
In front of a decidedly pro-Michigan crowd, the Wolverines dominated the Huskies (14-1) on both sides of the football most of the night with quarterback J.J. McCarthy methodically leading a ball-control offense. Running backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards both went over 100 yards rushing and combined for four touchdowns on the night.
Defensively, the Wolverines’ defense gave Washington’s star quarterback Michael Penix little room to work his magic, taking away most of his passing options all night. Penix also threw two interceptions versus just one touchdown.
