Another season of the greatest sport on earth has come and gone in the blink of an eye. It feels like just yesterday we watched Deion Sanders and Colorado stun TCU to open the 2023 campaign.
Through all the trials and tribulations in a season that had multiple major controversies, the Michigan Wolverines stood alone atop the college football world on the final Monday of the season. Despite Jim Harbaugh missing half of the regular season, Michigan was unphased and won its first National Championship since 1997.
Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor has been one of “trusting the process” and being patient. It was just three years ago when Harbaugh and the Wolverines were fresh off a dismal shortened 2020 season. There were legitimate concerns whether Harbaugh was the guy to get Michigan back to national prominence.
Fortunately, the program stayed the course and proceeded to have a three-year renaissance. After getting over the Ohio State hump and winning the Big Ten in 2021 and 2022, Michigan came up short in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
2023 felt like a now or never year for the Wolverines, with QB J.J. McCarthy returning, along with an elite running back tandem in Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. The defense lived up to its billing, giving up just over ten points a game en route to the program’s first 15-0 season.
Michigan cruised through its first nine games against vastly inferior competition. However, the sign-stealing scandal still loomed over the program and the Big Ten didn’t wait to take action against the undefeated Wolverines.
Harbaugh was handed a three-game suspension less than 24 hours ahead of a critical road matchup against Penn State. Instead of floundering, the team laughed in the face of controversy as interim head coach Sherrone Moore led the squad to a statement win against the Nittany Lions.
Fast forward two weeks with Moore still at the helm, and Michigan was able to fend off a late charge from the Buckeyes to all but secure a third straight trip to the CFP.
The third time was a charm for Michigan, winning an overtime classic in the Rose Bowl against Alabama and dominating future Big Ten rival Washington in the title game.
Many tried discrediting the Wolverines throughout the fall, whether it be their cheating scandal or soft schedule. However, there was no Connor Stallions on the sideline down the stretch and Michigan had to go out and beat several elite opponents to claim the sport’s ultimate prize.
The future of Harbaugh is still very much up in the air. As of me writing this, he has not taken an NFL job but has interviewed for several vacancies at the pro level.
Even if Harbaugh does leave the Maize and Blue, Sherrone Moore has shown he is more than capable of picking up where his boss left off.
Michigan’s championship celebration was quickly overshadowed by the greatest coach in the sports’ history shocking retirement.
Nick Saban caught everyone off guard last week byannouncing he would retire after a legendary career at Alabama that oversaw six National Championships and more first round picks than losses.
Unlike many legendary coaches that hang it up, there wasn’t any real sign of Saban slowing down. Yes, the program had its longest title drought under Saban(three whole seasons ‘Bama fans really had it rough).
However, recruiting was as strong as ever and the Tide were within a few plays of likely winning another championship.
Saban set a bar that will never be met for college football coaches by winning seven national titles and always being in the thick of the championship picture. There are countless stats that show Saban’s dominance, however I would be here all night if I tried to list all of them.
So instead, I will leave you with two from his time in Tuscaloosa. Excluding Saban’s first and last season with the Crimson Tide, Alabama was ranked number one at some point in every season. That’s 15 straight seasons of being the top ranked team in the nation in the hardest conference the sport has to offer.
Since 2008, Saban has won as many National Championships(6) as games he lost at home. I could go on and on about how ridiculous this dynasty has been.
It’s fitting that Saban is leaving the sideline at the same time several other things about the sport are that we have grown accustomed to.
2023 will be seen as the end of an era for all college football fans, not just Alabama. Next fall will be the beginning of the 12-team playoff along with major conference realignment.
Texas and Oklahoma are departing for the SEC and the Big Ten is adding USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington.
The Pac-12 is all but extinct with Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Stanford, and Utah leaving for either the ACC or Big 12.
While I, like many others, am not a fan of realignment, I will still be every bit as invested into my favorite sport come September.
The expanded playoff will give us more exciting matchups and give more programs access to high level success.
Regardless of how the sport looks in 2024 and beyond, I have no doubt what makes this game special will remain.
Chris’ College Football Top 25 Rankings:
1.Michigan Wolverines (15-0) W vs Washington 34-13, W vs Alabama 27-20, Preseason-2
2.Washington Huskies (14-1) L vs Michigan 34-13, W vs Texas 37-31, Preseason-12
3.Georgia Bulldogs (13-1) W vs Florida State 63-3, Preseason-1
4.Texas Longhorns (12-2) L vs Washington 37-31, Preseason-9
5.Alabama Crimson Tide (12-2) L vs Michigan 27-20, Preseason-4
6.Florida State Seminoles (13-1) L vs Georgia 63-3, Preseason-7
7.Oregon Ducks (12-2) W vs Liberty 45-6, Preseason-13
8.Missouri Tigers (11-2) W vs Ohio State 14-3. Preseason-unranked
9.Ole Miss Rebels (11-2) W vs Penn State 38-25, Preseason-23
10.Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2) L vs Missouri 14-3, Preseason-3
11.Arizona Wildcats (10-3) W vs Oklahoma 38-24, Preseason-unranked
12.LSU Tigers (10-3) W vs Wisconsin 35-31, Preseason-5
13.Penn State Nittany Lions (10-3) L vs Ole Miss 38-25, Preseason-6
14.Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3) W vs Oregon State 40-8, Preseason-14
15.Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-4) W vs Texas A&M 31-23, Preseason-unranked
16.Oklahoma Sooners (10-3) L vs Arizona 38-24, Preseason-20
17.Kansas State Wildcats (9-4) W vs NC State 28-19, Preseason-15
18.Tennessee Volunteers (9-4) W vs Iowa 35-0, Preseason-11
19.Clemson Tigers (9-4) W vs Kentucky 38-35, Preseason-10
20.Kansas Jayhawks (9-4) W vs UNLV 49-36, Preseason-unranked
21.Louisville Cardinals (10-4) L vs USC 42-28, Preseason-unranked
22.NC State Wolfpack (9-4) L vs Kansas State 28-19, Preseason-unranked
23.Liberty Flames (13-1) L vs Oregon 45-6, Preseason-unranked
24.SMU Mustangs (11-3) L vs Boston College 23-14, Preseason-unranked
25.West Virginia Mountaineers (9-4) W vs North Carolina 30-10, Preseason-unranked
Preseason Top 25 teams that finished unranked- USC, Oregon State, Utah, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Texas Tech, Wisconsin. TCU, Tulane