The University of Washington (UW) football team, which had been undefeated this year, won the Sugar Bowl (a match between the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams in the college rankings) in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff (CFP), as expected by experts, and entered the championship game, which is the College Super Bowl.
The UW football team, which rose to second place in the national university rankings by defeating the University of Oregon (UO) to win the PAC-12 championship last month, won 37-31 in the semifinals against third-place University of Texas held in New Orleans on the 1st. Accordingly, the UW football team will advance to the CFP championship game to be held in Houston, Texas at 4:30 pm on the 8th.
The opponent is the University of Michigan, ranked No. 1 in American college football, which won a close game that went into overtime against the University of Alabama, ranked No. 4 on the 1st. Experts predict that the outcome of the game between UW and Michigan will be a very close match that cannot be predicted. The UW football team won the national college football championship in 1960, 64 years ago, and tied for the championship with Minnesota in 1991.
The college football system between 1960 and 1991 was not what it is today. The method of ranking four teams by CFP based on the performance of American universities through the regular season and advancing them to the playoffs was introduced in 2014, and this is the first time that UW has advanced to the finals using this method. Starting next year, instead of 4 teams, 12 teams will advance to the playoffs and play in the playoffs, and then the final winner will be determined.
The UW football team advanced to the semifinals for the first time in the CFP format in 2016 but lost at the University of Alabama. The UW football team was expected to easily win the game against the University of Texas in New Orleans on the 1st, leading the game all along. However, due to several mistakes, such as allowing a fumble in the process of receiving the ball kicked by the opposing team, the team was unable to increase the score.
In Texas’ last attack with about 1 minute and 40 seconds left, the UW defense received a 15-yard penalty for touching an opposing player who was receiving a punt ball and allowed a touchdown, making fans nervous as they could have lost. The UW football team recorded a total of 532 yards of advancement in this game, and quarterback Michael Fenix was a major contributor to the victory by recording a whopping 430 yards of passing yards and two touchdown passes.
Penix became the second player in American college football to record more than 4,500 passing yards in two consecutive games. UW led the game with 36 minutes and 20 seconds of ball possession, while Texas held only 23 minutes and 40 seconds. UW’s wide receiver Rom Odense, who is considered the best receiver in American universities, set a record that day by catching 6 passes and advancing 125 yards.
The championship match, which starts at 4:30 pm on the 8th, will be broadcast live on ESPN.