The Wolverines are back in the playoffs after last year’s disappointing loss versus the Georgia Bulldogs, but quarterback JJ McCarthy and his crew used that as firepower to earn a National Championship, and make the victory that much more special.

Michigan had a lot of controversy in the past month over their head coach, Jim Harbaugh, who was suspended for 3 games by the BIG 10 after the conference believed that Michigan violated its rules on sportsmanship – which involved allegedly illegally stealing signs through the use of advanced scouting and technology.

Even without Harbaugh as their head coach for the last 3 games of the regular season, the Wolverines did not let BIG 10 take away the team’s shine, with wins against Maryland, Penn State, and rival Ohio State, under offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, who took the head coach job for the time Harbaugh was out.

The Crimson Tide are no strangers when it comes to the College Football Playoffs, with this being the eighth time they have played, leading all colleges. The last time Alabama was in the CFP was the 2021- 2022 season, when they lost to Georgia in the championship.

That said, Alabama is a team people doubted would make the playoffs just a month ago. They lost to Texas, and had to face a tough Georgia team at the end of the season if they even wanted a chance at the CFP. The Tide changed course in the Iron Bowl, where Alabama won against the Auburn Tigers off a game-winning prayer that was thrown up by Jalen Milroe and answered by Isaiah Bond.

Then, the next week, they squeaked out a win in the SEC Championship where they dethroned the Georgia Bulldogs (who are the reigning SEC champions and reigning National Champions).

The Tide is changing for Alabama and the new direction could not have come at a better time. The Wolverines have to come to the playoffs prepared, or they will get swept up in the current.

This marks the second time in program history that Washington has made the College Football Playoff, with their only previous appearance being in 2016. That year, the Huskies entered as the no. 4 team after defeating Colorado 41-10 in the Pac-12 title. They eventually lost to no. 1 Alabama 24-7 in the semifinal.

This is also the first time in school history that Washington’s team went undefeated in the regular season.

The Huskies are led by Heisman Trophy finalist Michael Penix Jr. The senior is having – by far – his best college season with 33 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, and over 4,000 passing yards. Washington’s best performances of the year were in the team’s two games against Oregon (and their Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback, Bo Nix). In those games, Penix threw for 300+ yards and he threw for 4 touchdowns in the first match. The Huskies would ultimately go on and win both games by a margin of 3 each (36-33) (34-31). Washington might be inexperienced in the CFP, but Penix and his supporting cast have shown that they are not shy under the bright lights.

The Texas Longhorns were led this season by an underclassman, Quinn Ewers, but being an underclassman does not mean one cannot ball. Ewers had an amazing connection with junior wide receiver Adonai Mitchell –  they connected on 10 touchdowns and more than 800 yards throughout the regular season.

The Longhorns trampled over Oklahoma State in a 49-21 victory in the BIG 12 championship to drastically boost their playoff chances.

Texas is a very young team, especially on offense, where they only have only 2 seniors who start and 3 on the whole offense.

On the other side of the ball, the Texas defense is the staple of their team and a big reason why they made it thus far, they are led by defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski who is in his third year of coaching at Texas and has been nothing short of a defensive genius. Texas’ defense has taken continual strides under Kwiatkowski, ranking top 25 in both scoring and total defense this season.

It has been 20 years for the Longhorns, and 33 years for the Huskies, since they have seen a new national title in their trophy case, and this game is just one hoof or paw closer to the top of the college football world.