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Michigan vs. Washington preview: National Championship rematch in Week 6 of college football

The Michigan Wolverines are heading west for their first road game of the season to take on the Washington Huskies. In other words, it's a rematch of the natty.

By Frank Sciarroni

Kalel Mullings #20 of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball during the CFP National Championship game between University of Washington and University of Michigan at NRG Stadium on January 8, 2024 in Houston, Texas.
Kalel Mullings #20 of the Michigan Wolverines runs with the ball during the CFP National Championship game between University of Washington and University of Michigan at NRG Stadium on January 8, 2024 in Houston, Texas. / Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/GettyImages
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The Michigan Wolverines are heading out west for their first road game of the season to take on the Washington Huskies. This now-Big Ten matchup will be a rematch of last season's National Championship game, but these are two teams that look very different than they did a year ago. 

Both rosters lost their fair share of talent to the NFL along with many coaching staff changes with the departures of Jim Harbaugh and Kalen DaBoer. So far each of these teams has had their struggles as they try to find themselves in this 2024 season.

Michigan enters at 4-1 with the lone loss coming at the hands of Texas, but they have just squeaked by in most of their wins. 

The offense has been a problem for the Wolverines highlighted by a lack of talent at the quarterback position. Davis Warren began the year as the starter but was benched midway through Week 3 and replaced by Alex Orji who has been the guy since. 

This has forced Michigan to live and die with the run game led by running backs Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards. While Edwards was one of the biggest names entering this college football season, Mullings has been Michigan’s go-to guy on the ground.

On defense the Wolverines have been good, but not as good as people expected them to be. They are giving up an average of 317.6 yards per game and through five weeks have already given up more points than the Michigan defense did in the first 11 games of 2023. 

The defense should get a big jolt in this matchup with the Huskies though as Sherrone Moore announced that CB Will Johnson and DE Josaiah Stewart will likely return after missing last week's game against Minnesota due to injury.

On the other side, Washington enters this game with a 3-2 record with losses to Washington State and Rutgers last Friday night. The Huskies are in their first season under head coach Jedd Fisch after Kalen DaBoer left for Alabama. 

Fisch brought in some notable names in the football world to fill out his staff with offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll (son of Pete Carroll) and defensive coordinator Steve Belichick (son of Bill Belichick). 

The Huskies offense is led by quarterback Will Rogers who transferred in from Mississippi State. Through five games Rogers has the 4th-best completion percentage in college football at 74.8 percent and has thrown for 1,354 yards.

Running back Jonah Coleman is their leader on the ground and has gone for over 100 yards in three of their five games.

Washington’s defense is currently statistically one of the best in the nation including a lights-out performance against Northwestern in a 24-5 win where they gave up a total of 112 yards. They have been susceptible against the run though which could be of great benefit to Michigan in this one.

As of Monday, most sportsbooks have Washington as a slight 2.5-point favorite over Michigan; crazy to see a defending national champion as an underdog going against a two-loss team this early in the season. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Husky Stadium and the game will air on NBC.

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