'Some good football games' is bit of an understatement. 'Bama - Michigan and Texas - Washington were the best pair of semifinals I can remember. At the age that lots of us are, as in having seen our alma mater play for a half century, you can get a feeling that when you win Jan. 1 or Jan. 8, that you may not be around to see a bigger, more important win so @Laszlo drink up that feeling while you can!
My guess, backed up by no cash whatsoever, is on team Blue & Maize rather than team Purple because of a better defense, run game and both O & D lines along with an ape**** crazy coach. But they're only 4.5 point favorites and the Huskies have a fantastic passing game. And it's college football.
They were both exciting, evenly matched football games, and I agree, best night ever - yeah, it may be the last time I get to see something like that involving Michigan.
I have nothing but respect for Washington. They're great. I could only say 'wow' last night. Should be an exciting game. No doubt in my mind that, depending on how the breaks go, either of these teams is capable of winning.
Interesting factoid: Penix was Indiana's QB in the COVID year when they beat a Michigan squad that had several players from the current team as young players that year. I'd guess he isn't afraid at all. He can inflict damage on Michigan, and he's done it before. Gotta respect his ability.
Also, Penix should get good protection; he operates behind an offensive line that won the Joe Moore national award for best O-line (that Michigan won last year and the year before).
My self-serving guesses are centered around the comparison between the two defenses. To SP+, which is an advanced metric that takes opponents' records and fancy stats into account, last night's Texas's defense was not as highly rated as four of Michigan's 2023 opponents (OSU, Iowa, PSU, and 'Bama),
I think that 'Bama was the #3 defense, Iowa the #6, Penn State the #4, and Ohio State the #12 or something close. But going by memory here on that. Anyway, they were all very good defenses.
Washington's defense is ranked #44.
In particular, they show vulnerability to the run. Last night we saw that Texas could run on them. The run game is Michigan's bread and butter. That may be the difference-maker. But you never know. One fumble, one turnover, or one blown assignment could cost either team the game.
The Michigan defense's SP+ rating is #1 if memory serves. We saw that they were able to stuff 'Bama - but only for a half. Credit to 'Bama, they figured it out and pretty much owned the second half until the last drive in regulation and the OT.
We haven't seen a game this year - until last night - with special teams errors of the kind that M made last night. I think previously we saw a couple of missed long field goals, and that was it. They came very close to blowing it. You just never know with this stuff.
