Just nine months after they squared off in the College Football Playoff national championship game, the UW Huskies and 10th-ranked Michigan Wolverines meet again Saturday night in a primetime clash on Montlake.
This time, it comes in their first-ever matchup as Big Ten foes.
Why Brock believes Huskies can upset No. 10 Michigan
So much has changed since that January night in Houston, where Michigan pulled away in the fourth quarter to claim the national title with a 34-13 win over the Huskies.
UW has an entirely new coaching staff, with Jedd Fisch now in charge after Kalen DeBoer departed for Alabama. Michigan also has a new coach in Sherrone Moore, who was promoted from offensive coordinator after Jim Harbaugh took the Los Angeles Chargers’ head-coaching job.
And the teams themselves are vastly different.
The Huskies had 10 players selected in April’s NFL Draft, including seven top-100 selections – highlighted by star quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and the receiving trio of Rome Odunze, Ja’Lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan. The Wolverines had a 13 players drafted – the most of any program –including standout quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
UW ended up losing 20 of its 22 starters from last season. Michigan didn’t fare much better, losing 16 of its 22 starters.
However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be big-time talent on display Saturday evening. The Huskies (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) have several offensive players who are near the top of the FBS leaderboards, while the Wolverines (4-1, 2-0) have four potential 2025 first-round draft picks.
Here’s a look at some of the top players for each team heading into Saturday night:
Michigan key players
• CB Will Johnson (jr.): Johnson is widely considered the top cornerback in college football and is the No. 2 overall NFL Draft prospect on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper’s Big Board. He has returned both of his interceptions this season for touchdowns – an 86-yarder against Fresno State and a 42-yarder against USC – and also has three pass breakups and a tackle for loss. He has nine career interceptions in 30 games with the Wolverines, including a juggling pick to open the second half of this past January’s national championship game.
• DT Mason Graham (jr.): Graham is the top-ranked defensive tackle and No. 5 overall draft prospect on Kiper’s Big Board. The 6-foot-3, 320-pound junior is a game-wrecking force up front with three sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and 12 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. Graham had five pressures in the national title game, including a play where he bull-rushed former UW center Parker Brailsford into Michael Penix’s leg, which forced an errant throw that led to the aforementioned interception by Johnson.
• DT Kenneth Grant (jr.): Grant is the No. 2 defensive tackle and the No. 19 overall draft prospect on Kiper’s Big Board. The 6-foot-3, 339-pound junior is another game-changer along Michigan’s defensive front, with two sacks, two tackles for loss, four pass deflections and 10 pressures this season. In the national championship game, he bull-rushed UW left guard Nate Kalepo to the ground on his way to sacking Penix.
• TE Colston Loveland (jr.): Loveland is the No. 1 tight end on Kiper’s Big Board. The 6-foot-5, 245-pound junior is Michigan’s leading receiver with 23 catches for 228 yards and a TD. The Gooding, Idaho, native has accounted for nearly 40% of the Wolverines’ receiving yards, with no other player having reached the 70-yard mark this season. In the national title game, Loveland had a key 41-yard catch-and-run that led to a TD and helped the Wolverines pull away.
• RB Kalel Mullings (grad.): The 6-foot-2, 233-pound Mullings spent his first three seasons at Michigan as a linebacker before moving to running back last year and serving as the No. 3 back. This year he has vaulted into the lead-back role in the Wolverines’ run-heavy attack, rushing for 540 yards, six TDs and 7.0 yards per carry. He ranks eighth in the FBS in rushing yardage and has topped 100 yards in each of the past three games.
• RB Donovan Edwards (sr.): Edwards was Michigan’s No. 2 back each of the past two seasons behind the record-setting Blake Corum, but he played a massive role in the national championship game, ripping off first-quarter TD runs of 41 and 46 yards on his way to 104 yards on just six carries. Edwards has taken a back seat to Mullings so far this year, rushing for 258 yards and three total TDs with 4.4 yards per carry.
Washington key players
• QB Will Rogers (sr.): Rogers has been incredibly efficient this season, completing 74.8% of his passes for 1,354 yards, 10 TDs and no interceptions. The Mississippi State transfer has the third-highest completion rate in the FBS and is one of just two FBS quarterbacks with 10-plus TD passes and no picks.
• RB Jonah Coleman (jr.): Coleman has been every bit as good as advertised, rushing for 521 yards and four TDs with an average of 7.2 yards per carry. The Arizona transfer has topped 100 rushing yards in three of his five games, including 148 yards on 16 carries last week against Rutgers. The bruising 5-foot-9, 229-pound back also has 13 catches for 106 yards. That gives him 627 yards from scrimmage, which ranks seventh-most in the FBS.
• Denzel Boston (soph.): Boston has 30 catches for 412 yards and ranks second in the FBS with seven TD receptions. The Emerald Ridge High School alum has had big performances each of the past two weeks, with 121 yards and two TD catches against Northwestern and 125 yards and two TD receptions against Rutgers.
• Giles Jackson (sr.): Jackson has 34 catches for 401 yards and a TD this season, including eight receptions for 162 yards and a score in the Apple Cup. The sixth-year senior will be facing his former team, having spent his first two college seasons with Michigan in 2019 and 2020. He totaled 24 catches for 309 yards in those two seasons before transferring to UW, where he is enjoying a breakout fourth season with the Huskies that already features career highs in receptions and yards.
• LB Carson Bruener (sr.): Bruener was UW’s third-leading tackler last season and is the team’s leading tackler this fall. The Redmond High School alum has two tackles for loss, an interception and three pass breakups this year.
• LB Alphonzo Tuputala (sr.): Tuputala, a Federal Way High School alum, is a three-year starter for the Huskies. He has 2.5 sacks, three tackles for loss, a pass breakup and 14 pressures this season.
