Michigan defeats Iowa to claim third straight Big Ten Championship

Another year, another Big Ten Championship for Michigan. The Wolverines claimed their third straight conference title Saturday with a dominant 26-0 win against Iowa that will also secure its spot in the College Football Playoff.

It hasn’t been an easy season for Michigan, with coach Jim Harbaugh missing six games as he served suspensions both for the first and last three games of the regular season. For all the off-field drama, however, the Wolverines remained on of the most dominant teams in all of college football.

That remained the case against the Hawkeyes as Harbaugh made his return to the sidelines. It was a defensive battle, and Michigan came ready to play, forcing three turnovers in the win. The Wolverines also held Iowa to only 155 yards of total offense as the pitched their second shutout of the season.

It wasn’t the biggest day offensively, but quarterback JJ McCarthy did just enough to finish 22-of-30 passing for 147 yards. Running back Blake Corum added a pair of touchdowns.

Michigan jumped out to an early 10-0 lead with a field goal and a touchdown on its first two drives of the game. However, the Hawkeyes defense tightened up after that and did not allow the Wolverines to score the remainder of the first half.

The momentum took a big swing to start the second half after Michigan knocked the ball from Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill‘s hand as he attempted to throw. The play was initially called an incomplete pass, but changed to a fumble after an official review that resulted in some controversy.

Regardless, it ended up being a pivotal play in the game.

Josh Wallace recovered the ball at the Iowa 6-yard line, allowing Corum to run it into the end zone on the very next play. It was then the Wolverines defense’s turn to come up with another big stop, forcing a turnover on downs to get the ball back. They went on to kick a field goal on the ensuing drive to go up 20-0.

It was smooth sailing from there as the defense continued to hold strong and the offense tacked on a couple more field goals on the way to the win.

Now the focus turn to the College Football Playoff, where Michigan stands a chance to move up to the No. 1 seed after its Big Ten Championship win. The Wolverines were No. 2 in the rankings entering this week, but No. 1 Georgia fell in the SEC Championship to Alabama.

Michigan has lost in the semifinals of the past two CFPs, but will aim to change that as it searches for its first national championship since the 1997 season. If it plays anything like it did Saturday, it should have a good shot.