College Football Playoff national championship odds: Early point spread released for Michigan Wolverines vs. Washington Huskies
The College Football Playoff national championship is set. It will be Michigan vs. Washington at NRG Stadium next week — and the early point spread has been released.
How to watch the College Football Playoff national championship
Time: Jan. 8, 7:30 p.m. ET
Channel: ESPN, FuboTV
Location: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
Michigan opened as a 4.5-point favorite over the Huskies, according to FanDuel. The over-under opened at 54.5.
Michigan won a thriller in Monday’s Rose Bowl against Alabama, needing overtime to pull it off. The Wolverines led at halftime, but saw that lead evaporate as the Crimson Tide took a lead to start the fourth quarter. Jase McClellan ran in his second touchdown of the day to put Alabama back out in front, 17-13, to start the final period.
Then, J.J. McCarthy hit Roman Wilson for touchdown to tie things up at 20-20. That gave Alabama the ball back with 1:34 to play, but the Crimson Tide came up empty — and the game went to overtime. Blake Corum then took the second hand-off of overtime in for a touchdown, and Michigan punched its ticket to the national championship with a 27-20 victory.
Corum led the charge for Michigan with two total touchdowns to go with 83 rushing yards and 35 receiving yards. McCarthy also had a solid showing, completing 17 of 27 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. That helped earn him Rose Bowl MVP honors.
That set the table for the Sugar Bowl between Texas and Washington. The Huskies and Longhorns put on a show through the first half, heading into the locker rooms all tied up at 21-21.
After halftime, though, the Huskies appeared to find their stride, taking a 34-21 lead into the fourth quarter. But Texas didn’t back down, making it a 34-28 ballgame when Quinn Ewers hit Adonai Mitchell for a touchdown. While Michael Penix Jr. and the Huskies tries to take the clock down, Texas eventually got the ball back with 45 seconds left — and that’s when things got interesting.
Ewers hit Jordan Whittington for a 41-yard pass to put the Longhorns in the red zone, and Jaydon Blue made a circus catch to put them at the 12-yard line with 15 seconds left to play. But Ewers’ pass to Mitchell at the final second fell incomplete.
Washington survived, and the Huskies are off to the national championship.
Penix had a monster day as Washington leaned heavily into the passing game. He completed 29 of 38 passes for 430 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Huskies’ offense. While the running game was fairly quiet until late, Dillon Johnson found the end zone twice, as well.
Now, the semifinals are in the books, and it all comes down to Monday night in Houston.