The Michigan Wolverines have had the best defense in the country all season long. But they will be facing perhaps their toughest test yet as a unit in the National Championship, facing off against the high-powered offense of the Washington Huskies led by star quarterback Michael Penix Jr.
Penix Jr. is coming off an unbelievable performance in the Sugar Bowl against Texas, throwing for 430 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-31 victory.
He has arguably been the most consistent player in all of college football this season. And Jim Harbaugh understands the struggles that someone like Penix could present to his defense, praising him in a media appearance on Wednesday.
“He’s a super great player. My impressions of him when he played at Indiana were the same. Big-time arm talent, tremendous presence in the pocket, sees the field really well. He’s so polished. Watching him and his accuracy, decision-making, and timing. He really just continued to have this tremendous presence of going through progressions. He feels pressure, will drop it off to a checkdown. It’s at an elite level.”
"He is so polished. Watching him and his accuracy, decision-making, timing — he has really just continued to have this tremendous presence of going through progressions. He feels pressure, will drop it off to a checkdown. It's at an elite level."
— TheWolverine.com (@TheWolverineOn3) January 3, 2024
The respect is obviously there between Harbaugh and Penix. As Harbaugh illuded to, Penix Jr. has had success in the past against Michigan and Harbaugh dating back to his days at Indiana.
Penix faced off with Michigan back in 2020, throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-21 victory over the Wolverines.
Only time will tell if we see a repeat of this performance from Penix in the National Championship. But it at least seems like Harbaugh is focused on changing the past with a victory over him next Monday.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.