People who like college football are used to the College Football Playoff having champions every few years. Georgia finished by winning its third straight title. This is the third national title that Alabama has won since the CFP began. Clemson also got two.
Fans will not only get a CFP national winner for the first time, but also one that hasn’t won one in at least 26 years. No. 1 In the Rose Bowl, Michigan beat No. 4 Alabama in OT. In the Sugar Bowl, Washington beat Texas to set up the title game.
Not only are these teams trying to win their first national title, but they are also going to their first title game. Michigan has been to the College Football Playoff twice before and lost both times. Auburn beat Washington in the semifinals in 2016.
This has been a rough season for the Wolverines. Coach Jim Harbaugh was kicked off the team for the first three games of the season because he was accused of lying to investigators and breaking the rules about recruiting during the COVID-19 dead time. The programme was then embroiled in another incident in the middle of the season when it was said that one of the coaches stole signs by scouting opponents in person, which was against the rules. As a result, the Big Ten suspended Harbaugh for the last three games of the season.
The Wolverines only beat Penn State on the road and beat foe Ohio State during that three-game stretch without Harbaugh. They went on to win their third straight Big Ten title and make the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row. After that, the Wolverines beat Nick Saban’s No. 1 Alabama team in OT for the program’s first College Football Playoff win. This kept their perfect season going.
A season without a loss for the Huskies wasn’t always pretty. Early in the season, Washington easily beat every team it played. But then it had a rough patch, losing to Arizona by just one score, barely beating Oregon, scoring only 15 points against Arizona State, and giving up 33 points to Stanford.
But in the prestigious Pac-12, Washington went perfect, beating a hot Oregon team twice—once in the middle of the season and again in the Pac-12 Championship. Michael Penix Jr., a quarterback, came in second place for the Heisman Trophy. He and his great receiving group put up amazing numbers all season long in 2023.
What you need to know about the national title in 2024
Who is going to win the 2024 College Football Playoff?
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 2 Washington
There will be a national championship game between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington.
For both the Wolverines and the Huskies, this is their first time in the national title game.
When and where is the 2024 CFP title game?
- Date: Monday, Jan. 8
- Kickoff time: 7:30 p.m. ET
- TV network: ESPN
- Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
For the 2024 national title, fans should get ready to go south to Houston, which is home to the Texans. The game has never been held in Houston before.
The game has been held in Texas before, though. The first CFP title game took place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. No. 2 Oregon lost to No. 4 Ohio State.
Odds, line and spread for the College Football Playoff national title
- Opening spread: TBD
- Moneyline: TBD
- Over/under: TBD
As soon as odds are posted, this part will be changed.
In how many times has Michigan won the national title?
It’s true that Michigan has never played in a national championship game. Since 1998, when the BCS system was first put in place, those head-to-head competitions have been around. That came after national winners were chosen by different groups.
But that doesn’t mean Michigan has never won a title. Nine championships have been won by them: in 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1918, 1923, 1933, 1948, and 1997. In 1997, the Wolverines shared the championship with Nebraska. At the end of the season, they were named No. 1 in the AP poll and beat No. 8 Washington State in the Rose Bowl. So both No. 2 Nebraska and No. 3 Tennessee have a claim on that year’s title. Nebraska went perfect and beat No. 3 Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.
Michigan had been in the College Football Playoff twice before, in 2021 and 2022. Both years, it lost in the first round, first to Georgia and then to TCU.
For how many times has Washington been to the big game?
That’s right, the Huskies have never been to a national title game either. In the past, Washington has only been to one College Football Playoff, and that was in 2016. But Alabama beat the Huskies in the first round of the playoffs that year.
That doesn’t mean the Huskies don’t have any trophies, either. They have one that was made in 1991. That happened in the Rose Bowl, where No. 2 Washington beat No. 4 Michigan. But, like Michigan’s 1997 title, this one is shared with Miami. Miami went perfect, finished the year ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, and beat No. 11 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
