The Washington Huskies fell to the Michigan Wolverines, 34-13, in the College Football Playoff National Championship game on Monday night in Houston. It was all Michigan from start to finish, and Jim Harbaugh's potential final game as the head coach for the program ended with a national title.
Washington just was never able to get any momentum going, and a two-touchdown first quarter by Donovan Edwards kicked things off in a big way and gave Washington an early deficit. By the end of it all, the final game in Pac-12 Conference history came to an unfortunate end for the Huskies as they will move to the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
It was not what Kalen DeBoer was hoping for from his squad, but Michigan proved to be the better team all night long. With that, here are a few Washington Huskies to blame for the performance in the national title game.
Michael Penix Jr.
It's tough to point the blame on a quarterback who played so well all season long. Penix was a Heisman Trophy finalist, throwing for an eye-popping 4,903 yards with 36 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He led the NCAA in yards in the regular season with 4,218, right ahead of Bo Nix and Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels.
Penix was also sensational in the Sugar Bowl win over Texas, throwing for 430 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. But, things unraveled against Michigan. Penix finished just 27-of-51 for 255 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The first interception was a horrendous one for the Huskies.
Right after halftime, down by just one touchdown and with a chance to tie the game, Penix threw an interception to Will Johnson on a tipped ball.
The second one was the nail in the coffin as Mike Sainristil returned it 81 yards, allowing Blake Corum to score the final touchdown to extend the lead to 34-13 and ruin any potential comeback hopes Washington had. It was just an overthrow by Penix, and the game was over from that moment.
Penix was battered and injured all night long, although he downplayed the extent of his injury after the game. But, he missed some wide-open throws that he was accustomed to making, including an uncharacteristic miss to Rome Odunze in the first half that could've resulted in a touchdown.
It was a miscommunication on both ends, but either way a costly miss in a tight game. All in all, Penix had his worst game of the year on the biggest stage, and his final game in college football.
Washington's defense early on
Now, this one is a bit tricky. But, let's start things off by saying this: Michigan obliterated Washington's defense to start the game. Donovan Edwards had two touchdowns on two carries for 87 yards in the first quarter. Blake Corum finished the game with 134 and two scores on 21 carries, and Edwards ended with six carries for 104 yards and two scores, so the run defense got gashed all night long.
The defense was the story early on, and Michigan was able to capitalize. Adjustments were clearly made in the second half as Michigan scored two touchdowns, although one short one off the interception return. Still, the hole the defense put Washington in early on was too much to overcome, even more so with an offense that struggled to move the football all night long.
Will Nixon drop and Rome Odunze miscue
We talked about the failed connection by Odunze and Penix earlier, but a pair of drops by Washington were costly. Odunze's uncharacteristic miscue in the first half was something that will be remembered for a long time by Washington fans, especially considering how dominant the Penix-Odunze pairing has been all season long.
It's hard to focus on just one play in a game of this magnitude, but one another Washington drop spoiled any chance of a comeback. With the Huskies trailing 20-13 in the fourth quarter, Will Nixon dropped a costly pass on third down that would've given them a first down and kept the momentum going.
If Nixon makes the catch, Washington gets the first down and could continue driving down the field, potentially tying the game around the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter. Of course, this is all hypothetical, but that drop at that moment of the game was a big blow to the Huskies' chances.
If the Huskies come up with either one of these catches, it's a totally different ballgame.
Nonetheless, it was a promising season for Washington as they won the Pac-12, beat Oregon twice, defeated Texas in the Sugar Bowl, and made national headlines in Kalen DeBoer's second season with the program. But, it will be a long offseason thinking what could have been against Michigan in the national title game. Don't worry, we get a rematch on October 5 in Seattle in a Big Ten Conference showdown.
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