Washington vs. Michigan Final Score Prediction for College Football National Championship
By Reed Wallach
Washington and Michigan meet in the National Championship on Monday in what is one of the most interesting matchups in recent memory.
You can find our thoughts on this one in full here, as well as our player prop guide here, but this article is going to try and focus on the seemingly impossible task of predicting the exact score of the National Championship between the Wolverines and Huskies.
I'm going to key in on the likely game script and attempt to solve the puzzle of what the scoreline will be. Keep reading to find out what I'm betting on at 120-1 at FanDuel Sportsbook. While we are at this, sign up for FanDuel with the link below to get $150 in bonus bets after winning your first moneyline wager of $5! Get started below!
Washington vs. Michigan Odds, Spread and Total
Washington vs. Michigan Final Score Prediction
As I wrote about in the full betting preview for the game, I lean towards the Michigan side due to the strength of both its offensive and defensive lines:
As noted above, Michigan is a snail, only service academies play slower. Washington isn't much faster, playing at a below-average tempo in the 70's. Neither team allows explosive plays and I believe each team will look to play ball control football and keep the opposing offense on the sidelines.
With limited possessions for both sides and defenses that are elite at keeping the ball in front of them, I think we see the clock moving and points not coming in bunches as each team looks to avoid the big play.
Further, given Michigan's dominance on the defensive line, Washington may struggle to get into favorable down and distances in this one. The Huskies got zero help from the run game (outside of Penix scrambles and designed runs) and its lead back Dillon Johnson was carted off the field after the game.
If we can infer that the Wolverines can mitigate the Huskies' offense to an extent, and keep the high-octane offense on the sideline, this game may be lower-scoring than expected.
Further, I believe that Michigan can methodically move the ball and control the field position battle in its attempts to create scoring opportunities off of its suffocating defense.
I'll take a stab at Michigan to win a defensive-minded affair 27-17.
Final score prediction: Michigan 27, Washington 17
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Track Reed's bets here!