The Michigan Wolverines are the favorites against the Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
As a number one seed in the Final Four, they took care of business against Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Latest betting odds have the Wolverines -4.5 Against The Spread. Moneyline is at -197 for Michigan -197, and Washington at +163.
The odds basically say the game is a close call.
Coach Jim Harbaugh and his boys are the favorites but there is a mountain of a challenge they need to overcome to lift their first national title since 1997.
The controversial coach, who spent a number of games far from the bench due to suspensions imposed for his alleged involvement in a sign-stealing scandal, believes in the talent they have.
He believes they can win it all only by playing as a unit.
"When it gets to how the world wants to turn you into something - we kind of allow ourselves to devolve into a pack of wolves," Harbaugh said. "That's what we want to channel. Probably nature's greatest fighting unit."
He is right. The Wolverines is not a team of just one player.
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Throughout the season, especially during the times when Harbaugh is out, they managed to win games because they stuck with the plan they had. They showed their cohesiveness as a unit to fend off any offense that tried to derail their campaign.
One game left for the Wolves to win the title. They do not have to look anywhere else to snatch the victory against a formidable foe.
The difference maker is the same suspect behind their undefeated record for 2023, their defense.
Difference maker: Defense
Michael Penix Jr. who elevated his game for the Huskies in their win against the Texas Longhorn to reach the finals stage. Safe to say he is their X-factor.
As for the Wolverines, they are not that far from offensive performance Washington is showing since the start of the season. JJ McCarthy can hold his own against Penix in terms of talent while Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards make the case for the league's best 1-2 punch running backs.
Washington's and Michigan's offense can cancel out each other any given day.
This is where the Wolverines defense becomes more valuable.
Their defense has been the nation's best the whole year. They have a talented back end, with three players who play in the secondary making it to the top 75 of the 2024 CBS Sports NFL Draft Prospect Rankings.
As a team, they are ranked no. 1 in yards allowed per game (243.1). The defense took it up to the next level in the Rose Bowl by holding Alamba to a season-low 288 yards.
Huge part of this invincibility on the defense end is credited to Michigan secondary coordinator and defensive backs coach Steve Clinkscale who always goes over the film and make sure that won't miss a thing.
"We talk about defensive football being like a boxing match," he said.
"You've always got to see what they're throwing, feel them out a little bit, then adjust, then do something when they adjust and keep playing chess and not checkers."
Michigan can go as far as where their defense would take them.
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