Urban Meyer explains what gives Michigan an edge in College Football Playoff National Championship Game vs. Washington

Urban Meyer watched the College Football Playoff Semifinals on New Year’s Day like most of America did, and he’s come to a myriad of fascinating conclusions.

The former Ohio State Buckeyes leader watched as their biggest rival advanced to the national title game, and now the Michigan Wolverines will face the Washington Huskies in the finale of the 2023 campaign. Will Jim Harbaugh capture a national title, or will the Big Ten bound Huskies upset Michigan?

Ahead of the showdown, Meyer joined Tim May for Urban’s Take with On3, where he explained his opinion of what gives the Wolverines the edge over Washington heading into next Monday’s game.

“I think the front-seven on both sides of the ball. On both sides. It was on display in the last game against Alabama. It was really, really good,” Meyer explained. “I think it all starts and stops with the line-of-scrimmage, especially when you start getting into — I used to say talent equated. That was a term we used all the time. In talent equated games. Everybody is going to have really good skill. When you go out and recruit skill, there’s a lot of it. You say, ‘Give me the top 25 wide receivers,’ they’re all really good. Now obviously there’s Marvin Harrison — you can find, if you say, ‘Give me the top 25 offensive tackles,’ there’s not that many. When you say, ‘I want to go find the top — give me the top 25 centers,’ there aren’t any. There’s not 25 guys. So it’s a fistfight for those top four, five guys. 

“That’s what I see, when I watched them play. They’re developed, but they’re really, really good players. They’re a well-coached team. They play hard as hell.”

Alas, Meyer isn’t alone in that sentiment. Following the victory over the Crimson Tide, Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy specifically pointed out his team’s offensive line, giving them a lion-share of the credit for the win.

“I mean, the offense doesn’t go unless those big boys go,” McCarthy said, following the 27-20 overtime victory in which he was sacked just once. “That’s just been — Coach [Jim] Harbaugh mentioned it: This game was going to be won in the trenches. And I feel like they did a tremendous job taking out two great edge rushers, two great interior guys.”

If Michigan is to win the national title, they’ll need a similar performance on Monday. The Huskies offense can score points in bunches, and the Wolverines will need to keep up.

Time will tell if it’ll be Michigan or Washington hoisting the trophy when it’s all said and done. But Urban Meyer and the rest of America will be tuned in when the Wolverines and Huskies clash.