Personal Thoughts on the National Championship Game
I have some strong feelings about the result of the National Championship game and the Michigan Wolverines franchise at the moment that I feel the need to rant about on the Internet. Many will disagree, others will take my side. The point is not to start an argument, but to let me thoughts be heard because nobody else seems to be saying any of these things.
As mentioned in my recap article, I had some strong bias heading into the National Championship Game that has certainly as I was picking Washington. This was for a number of reasons. The first is that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Michael Penix and the Washington Huskies this year. I think he was snubbed for the Heisman due to SEC-bias (discussion for another article, perhaps) and I think he deserved the title more than any one player this year for his contribution to Washington. The second reason is that the controversy surrounding Michigan leads me to believe there was a certain level of cheating involved in their season up to and through the game on Monday night. It is this specific point I feel needs further discussion.
People will try and say that there are "allegations" not convictions, but when you fire a staff member and have your coach suspended, there is clearly reasonable doubt and enough evidence exists to enforce punishment. People will try to argue that the punishments were enforced for cheating that took place in past seasons. That was clearly not the case as Mr. Stallions was a part of the Wolverine staff through a fair amount of this season and video evidence exists to suggest cheating occurred all through this year. People will try to argue that they only cheated against Big Ten opponents. While that alone is not an excuse, it's also incorrect. Stallions also bought tickets to at least the last couple of SEC Championship games. So, why did Alabama do alright against them even though they played so bad last week? Perhaps they switched up their playbook to something unfamiliar to confuse Michigan? Nobody really knows about that one, though.
The point here is that Michigan clearly knew exactly what Washington was going to run offensively. You may want to say "That was just a fantastic defensive game by Michigan." When a team goes from looking mediocre one week against a bad opponent to absolutely dominating a championship-deserving Washington Huskies team, red flags pop up everywhere. There is no doubt in my mind that Michigan knew what Washington was doing on at least most of the plays they ran and when you have faced allegations throughout the year and accepted punishments for sign stealing, one can't help but point fingers.
Now, with that said, I think it is important to also call out the refereeing crew who missed some extremely blatant holds on Michigan while making soft calls against Washington all game long. I would also like to point out that the reversed targeting call at the end of the game was a textbook targeting hit that the rule was written to remove from the game. I would also like to point out that the entire media crew, especially the commentators, seemed extremely pro-Michigan in every single way possible even before the game had begun.
I think it's also important to admit that Penix had a rough day and his receivers also let him down. The Washington offensive line struggled to avoid drawing flags, as well. The biggest problem for Washington was their inability to stop the run game. I'm not sure what happened, but watching them let three massive first quarter runs-up-the-middle go for more than 40 yards, one for almost 60, and two for touchdowns was cringe-worthy as someone picking the Huskies. That is exactly how to lose big games.
Overall, I am extremely disappointed in the outcome of the game. Not just because I was a Washington fan, but because I think Michigan cheated to get there and cheated to win it, as well. Did they play a good game? Absolutely! Could they have won without cheating? Possibly. Will we ever know? Never. This year will always be accompanied by an "*" in my book next to the Wolverines. A team that has had their coach suspended for 6 games total on two separate occasions for two separate cheating scandals while a third cheating scandal is still being looked at regarding more recruiting violations should not be allowed to compete in the postseason. If the allegations were dropped without punishment, this would be a different story. Clearly, there is enough evidence to lay down punishment, but that didn't mean anything to the Wolverines as they hoisted the trophy on Monday night. Whoever said "Cheaters never prosper" was clearly wrong, because in the 2023 college football season, cheaters definitely prospered.