Michigan and Washington are scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday night at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The college football season comes to a close with a meeting between Michigan and Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday night.
Both teams are making their first title game appearances of the playoff era after thrilling down-to-the-wire victories in the semifinals. No. 1 Michigan stuffed a fourth-down overtime run to outlast No. 4 Alabama, 27-20, in the Rose Bowl, while No. 2 Washington’s held off No. 3 Texas’ late comeback attempt in a 37-31 Sugar Bowl win that also went down to the final play.
And now an elite matchup on the championship stage awaits.
This marks only the third time in the first decade of the College Football Playoff that two 14-0 teams are facing off in the championship game. The Wolverines lost in the semifinals in each of the last two years before finally reaching the big game this time around. J.J. McCarthy is 26-1 as Michigan’s starter and was recently deemed by head coach Jim Harbaugh to be the greatest quarterback in the program’s history. But Heisman runner-up Michael Penix Jr. had led the Huskies to 21 straight wins going into a battle against Michigan’s top-ranked defense.
From how to watch this highly anticipated title game, to some championship history, here’s a guide to Monday’s College Football Playoff finale.
