If Michigan had any nerves coming into Monday night’s national championship game, you wouldn’t know it. Michigan jumped on Washington early. Fueled by a pair of Donovan Edwards touchdown runs of 41 and 46 yards, the Wolverines raced to a 14-3 first quarter lead. On Michigan’s next possession, James Turner connected on a 31-yard field goal to extend Michigan’s lead to 17-3 less than two minutes into the second quarter.
Yet despite the hot start, the Wolverines couldn’t quite pull away from the Huskies.
Washington caught its breath and righted the ship. Tightened its defense, dedicated more resources to stopping the run. As a result, for the majority of the second and third quarters, the Wolverines maintained a seven-to-ten-point lead. Michigan couldn’t put the game away. Washington couldn’t close the gap.
The teams mostly traded field goals and field position.
And so it went until midway through the fourth quarter. Leading by a touchdown, Michigan put together its first extended drive of the half. Beginning on its 29-yard line, the Wolverines moved the ball 59 yards in six plays, the key play a 41-yard pass from to Colston Loveland. A few plays later, facing a second down from the Washington 12-yard line and with just over seven minutes to play, Michigan had a chance to finally put the game on ice. Not surprisingly, the Wolverines turned to senior running back Blake Corum.
Corum responded with yet another memorable touchdown run. First evading an unblocked Alphonzo Tuputala with a nifty change of direction, Corum then cut upfield and darted into the end zone. The run might not have been quite as impactful as his 22-yard touchdown run immediately following Zak Zinter’s injury against Ohio State or his 17-yard game-winning touchdown run to defeat Alabama in overtime, but it nonetheless changed the tenor of the game.
The touchdown gave Michigan a 27-13 lead and provided the Wolverines some much-needed breathing room. It also amplified the pressure on Michael Penix and the Huskies to answer with a touchdown of their own if they had any hopes of staying in the game.
