Michigan put a bow on the season with a hard-fought win over Washington last night. As predicted by many, it came down to Michigan’s defense vs. the Washington high-powered offense, and the defense clearly won out.

Michigan jumped out early and then relied on its defense to hold the line in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. SU has seen games like this before this season – the Maryland game certainly comes to mind. Get the big, early lead and then rein in the offense by running it over and over again. As a fan, it is very frustrating (many on X would agree who were Xing last night about this. Btw, how stupid is the name X? Not a winning move). Washington loaded the box and dared Michigan to throw. JJ McCarthy was a bit jumpy in the pocket and seemed intent to always throw to the first option even though he had time in the pocket. After opening up the offense against Alabama, the game plan last night was overly conservative once they had the lead. I mean, at least run JJ McCarthy on the zone read plays as Washington was packing it in for the runs up the middle.

Penix had a few shots for big plays but he took a beating. He must have had bruised ribs by the end of the game as he was turning away after every throw to protect his mid-section. Washington is a fun team to watch with an imaginative offense and NFL-quality receivers. They were a deserving finalist but Michigan makes great defensive adjustments at half time every game, and last night was no exception. They held them to 3 points in the 2nd half which is pretty amazing for that offense.

SU will enjoy this one. The NCAA will do its NCAA things next season in the way of penalties, etc. Btw, keep an eye on the Catapult software scandal where some some college team or teams stole information from other teams. Both Alabama and Michigan were victims of this one which goes back a couple of years. 

Harbaugh may jump to the NFL now feeling he has restored the Michigan program and it’s the right time to fulfill his NFL dreams. He certainly has the right to do that. If he leaves, it won’t be that Michigan’s contract offer was not big enough ($12 million a year for 10 years or something like that?). For SU, it feels like the NFL style of play has passed him by and he is also very high maintenance so owners should beware. SU believes the smart move in the NFL these days is to hire the younger coordinators but for sure, some owners will be tempted to go after guys like Harbaugh, Belichick, etc. SU also feels that JJ McCarthy could certainly use another year of college ball as he is not as dominant as some of the other quarterbacks coming out this year. This is a QB rich draft and he will be better positioned next season.

If Harbaugh does leave, SU believes Michigan would elevate Sherrone Moore to head coach, and even though he might not be 100% ready, he can grow into the job. And I know high school kids will want to play for him. Of course, next year’s schedule features games with preseason top-10 ranked teams: Ohio State; Oregon; Washington; and Texas. For SU, I would much prefer to see those games against high quality teams vs. the Arkansas States.

Great season for the Michigan fans (and it will help to cover up for a bad basketball team this year). Go Blue!