The CFP national championship game winner between Michigan and Washington will have the opportunity to assert a claim that neither of their previous winners could.
College football is renowned for its unpredictable nature, as underdogs regularly overcome strongly favored opponents. But in the 2023 season, upsets of this kind were uncommon—at least until the very end, when the football teams from Michigan and Washington defeated two of the most prestigious programs in college football to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) national championship.
Although Alabama was officially a two-point underdog against Michigan going into Monday’s Rose Bowl semifinal, the general consensus among supporters and analysts seemed to indicate otherwise. There was a lot of talk about the Crimson Tide making an unprecedented seventh trip to the CFP national title game after they defeated then-No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. (As charged, guilty.)
Washington, on the other hand, had a more significant task ahead of them; Texas was a four-point favorite going into the Sugar Bowl. They had been the underdog against Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship game, the first time they had been in this position in two straight games.
However, these two teams will now play for the national championship in Houston, Texas. Michigan has pulled off a completely different upset than Washington, which is the definition of the biggest underdog upset of the year. Not only did they defeat the unofficial favorite Alabama team on the field, but they also silenced their detractors, earning a spot in the CFP national championship game against the wishes of many.
The college football playoffs will make Michigan and Washington’s titles more obvious.
The Huskies and Wolverines have won thirteen national titles between them. The word “claimed” needs to be underlined because each of their individual titles came from a time when picking the best team was even more difficult than it is today.
Prior to the Bowl Championship Series and College Football Playoffs, the teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 heading into the bowl season only faced off in bowl games six times, according to Max Molski of NBC New York. This period of time ran from 1968 (the year the AP poll started naming its champion following bowl games) to 1992.
Consensus National Champions from 1990 and 1991 altered the college football landscape and paved the way for the Bowl Coalition’s founding in 1992. A deal between bowl games and conferences to enable a national championship match between the top two teams every season gave rise to this alliance. The coalition changed after three seasons, becoming the Bowl Alliance, which also lasted for a mere three seasons.
But the exclusion of the Big Ten and Pac-10 constituted a major setback to the Bowl Coalition and Bowl Alliance’s ability to name a national champion. Due to their contractual obligations to play in the Rose Bowl, both conferences were excluded from the discussion. It was against the rules of the Tournament of Roses Association for either conference champion, regardless of who was ranked first or second, to play in the championship game.
Thinking about all of that now seems ridiculously absurd.
The last time Washington football won a national championship was in 1991, when they were ranked fourth in the preseason. They went 12-0 overall and 8-0 in Pac-10 conference play. Their two most notable victories that season came against No. 7 Cal in Berkeley and a No. 9 Nebraska squad in Lincoln. Ironically, their greatest victory came in the Rose Bowl against a 10-2 Michigan team ranked No. 4.
After defeating the Wolverines 34-14, the Huskies were voted as the nation’s best team by coaches. However, the AP poll ranked them second. The Miami Hurricanes, who finished 12-0 and defeated No. 11 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl 22-0, ultimately shared the national championship. ESPN reports that 11 split national titles were produced during the poll era.
