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Michigan or Washington will leave Monday night with its first national title of the College Football Playoff era.
The undefeated Wolverines and Huskies will clash in the National Championship Game at NRG Stadium. Colin Cowherd believes Jim Harbaugh’s favored squad will prevail in a close contest.
“I like Michigan, sort of 30-26,” Cowherd predicted on Monday’s podcast. “I think the line’s appropriate, but I do like Michigan. And there’s going to be points. It will not be Texas-Washington. It won’t look like that. It’ll be much more physical, much more between the 20s, more field goals.”
Cowherd noted that betting sharps are on Michigan, whose line has expanded to 5.5 after opening as 3.5-point favorites on ESPN Bet last week.
Washington notched a 37-31 semifinal victory over Texas in a Sugar Bowl shootout with 1,030 combined yards. Cowherd can’t see Michael Penix Jr.’s Huskies offense flourishing that well against a Wolverines defense that’s permitted just 10.2 points per game.
While he envisions Michigan controlling the tempo through long drives, he sees a talented group of receivers led by Rome Odunze giving Michigan’s secondary some trouble. However, some of that offensive production may come in garbage time.
“I don’t think any college team has three good corners, so I just think Washington’s gonna be able to score,” said Cowherd. “Especially if they’re scoring late, and Michigan’s protecting a 10-point lead, Washington’s really gonna move the ball down the field. Michigan has to be an aggressive team. You cannot take your foot off the gas with Washington’s coach [and] their quarterback.”
Washington is entering its third straight game as an underdog, so Kalen DeBoer’s team is probably used to pundits like Cowherd kicking against them. Meanwhile, it’s harder for Harbaugh to keep touting the “Michigan vs. Everybody” line when just about everybody is picking the Wolverines to win.
The National Championship Game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.