SEATTLE (AP) — Less than nine months ago, Washington and Michigan met with a national championship on the line in a traditional matchup between the Pac-12 and Big Ten that evoked the history of those two conferences.
Fast forward to when the Huskies and 10th-ranked Wolverines meet on Saturday, and it’ll be an early season matchup between Big Ten schools who look almost nothing like the teams that met in Houston last January.
Seemingly everything is different about this matchup between the schools versus that night when Michigan claimed its first national title since 1997 with a 34-13 victory over Washington.
This time around, the coaches are different. The quarterbacks are different. The rosters are dramatically different.
Perhaps the biggest difference of all? This is a conference game now with the Huskies part of the western expansion of the Big Ten.
“We got our work cut out for us. It’s going to be a great atmosphere. I’d be shocked if it wasn’t absolutely slammed in the stadium,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said.
Michigan (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) will head away from Ann Arbor for the first time this season coming off consecutive 27-24 victories — first over No. 11 USC and last week holding on late to knock off Minnesota.
The last time the Wolverines didn’t leave home until their sixth game came in 2016.
“I think our players are excited to get on the road. It eliminates distractions, eliminates all the outside stuff, and you’re kind of in your cocoon with your group,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys come by the office and tell them, ‘yeah, we’re ready to get on the road. I’m ready to take this show on the road.’”
Washington (3-2, 1-1) has dropped two of its last three games, including last week’s 21-18 loss at Rutgers where the Huskies dominated possession and outgained the Scarlet Knights but were hurt by a combination of penalties, missed field goals and struggling in the red zone.
Despite losing across town at a neutral site to rival Washington State last month, the Huskies have won 17 straight games at Husky Stadium, the second-longest home win streak in the country.
“Certainly a team in the process of getting better. Certainly a team that has shown a lot of potential to be really good and as we’re continuing to build the program the way we want it, I think we’ll continue to see more and more flashes of that and less and less flashes of some negative plays here or there,” Fisch said.
Passing Time
Michigan would like to start getting more from its pass game on offense. QB Alex Orji is 2-0 as a starter, but throwing the ball with any impact has been basically nonexistent for Michigan. Orji was 7 of 12 for 32 yards in the win over USC and last week against Minnesota was 10 of 18 for 86 yards and threw a fourth-quarter interception that sparked the Golden Gophers comeback.
Michigan has thrown for just 577 yards as a team through five games, and ranks 129th in the country in yards passing per game out of 133 teams.
“I think the best thing for guys is experience, especially at the quarterback spot,” Moore said. “So those guys get experience, they get better. They take steps forward. So I look forward for him to take a step forward this week.”
Ground Game
Both Washington and Michigan feature exceptional running backs.
The Wolverines ran over the Huskies in the championship game and it was primarily Donovan Edwards leading the charge rushing for 104 yards and two TDs in that game. Edwards is back, but it’s primarily been Kalel Mullings as the lead back for Michigan through five games. Mullings has topped 100 yards and had two rushing TDs in each of the past three games.
For Washington, it’s been Jonah Coleman that’s carried the load. Coleman has quietly been one of the top running backs in the country so far. Coleman had 148 yards and averaged 9.3 yards per carry against Rutgers, his third 100-yard game of the season. Having that kind of success will be tougher against the Wolverines, who are giving up just 2.8 yards per rush.
Rare Meeting
This is the first time in the College Football Playoff era that the championship game participants have met in the following regular season and in a conference game, no less. In 2018, Georgia and Alabama met a year after the teams played for the title, but that came in the SEC championship game.
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