What Washington Head Coach Kalen DeBoer Said About Michigan

By Anthony Broome

The Michigan Wolverines and Washington Huskies will play for a national title on Monday night in Houston, and both teams are back home and readying themselves for one last road trip for all the marbles.

Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer and players spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon to kick off bowl prep after a 37-31 win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl. He knows that the challenge of toppling a Michigan team that is buzzing following a 27-20 Rose Bowl overtime win over Alabama will be difficult.

Each team will spend a few days at its home bases in Ann Arbor and Seattle, respectively, before arriving in Houston on Friday evening.

“Congratulations and tip of the hat to Coach Harbaugh and Michigan,” DeBoer said. “Amazing season they’ve had, and just a lot of domination all year long. A well-fought win against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. We are looking forward to the challenge, looking forward to everything that comes along with the National Championship here in the days ahead, and our preparation, especially with the coaching staff and the game planning, is going strong already. In a couple days we’ll be back down in Houston, and really looking forward to that, flying down there.”

The matchup will be unique in that it pits two schools against each other that will play in the same conference next season in the next round of realignment. Washington joins the Big Ten in 2024 along with USC, UCLA and Oregon. DeBoer and the Huskies play Michigan on Oct. 5 in Seattle, but all of the focus now is on the matchup at hand.

“I hadn’t [thought about it] until really yesterday, until someone else had asked the same question,” DeBoer said, when asked about being Big Ten rivals with U-M next season. “Yeah, certainly they’re on our schedule a year from now and it’s a whole different deal that we’ll be involved with as far as new conference. I think this year where we’re at right now in the season, this is all about really us representing the Pac-12 and going to win a National Championship for our program and finishing off this season for this group of guys that have worked really hard. I haven’t really got into that or thought of it that way. I think it’s all about this moment and this game and what it means for our program to be participating and have a chance to win a National Championship.”

Of course, the story of the game could revolve around Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who finished as the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and has thrown for 4,648 yards, 35 touchdowns and 9 interceptions this year while completing 66.7 percent of his throws at 9.2 yards per attempt. He spent the first four seasons of his career at Indiana and led the Hoosiers to their first win over Michigan since 1987 in a 38-21 victory in 2020. He was 30-for-50 for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns that day.

Might there be something to draw on as the Huskies prepare for Michigan? DeBoer doesn’t seem to think so.

“A lot has happened since the times that he’s played [at Indiana],” he said. “I think it’s just a whole different thing that he’s involved with now being here at UW and his teammates and the confidence he has in them and that they have in him, as well. I think it’s all about right now.

“But if you were playing in their stadium, maybe there would be some familiarity that would help him feel good about it, but we’re playing down in Houston. Maybe the colors across from him could be something that could bring back some memories pretty quickly, but I think right now he’s also just in the moment and focused on our program and the opportunity at hand.”

Michigan’s loss to Indiana in 2020 came a week after an embarrassing rivalry loss to Michigan State and kicked the door open for a lot of changes to be made after a 2-4 campaign. It resulted in defensive coordinator Don Brown losing his job and a number of culture and preparation aspects being overhauled.

“I don’t know if it’s one particular game that gets someone to evolve and change,” DeBoer said. “I think it’s a lot of other things. But Michael certainly had a year there at Indiana where he had a lot of success against a lot of different teams. But yeah, you kind of have to adjust to the people that cause you the most problems. I think the irony is that, yeah, he’s playing another Big Ten team that he’s faced before. It’s a cool moment for us as a team and for him, as well.

What DeBoer said about star RB for Michigan game

This season, Washington running back Dillon Johnson has rushed for 1,162 yards and 16 touchdowns on 222 carries. Washington might be pass-happy, but they still run it a respectable amount, and Johnson’s impact keeps opposing defenses honest. However, an injury suffered on Washington’s final offensive play in the Sugar Bowl has put his status into question.

DeBoer addressed it on Wednesday afternoon.

“I haven’t seen him today,” DeBoer said. “I know that we got back yesterday, and they continued to
look at him and had a report with our training staff today. This is just something he’s been working through for a couple months now and just played through it. There’s nothing as far as above and beyond what’s happened in the past. Just kind of throughout the game, he’d reaggravate it and shake it off and go back out there and play. I guess my thought is he’ll be ready to go. Obviously it’s a quick week, quick turnaround, only seven days to get ready again.

“We’ll be smart with how we prepare, and I guess that’s my assumption not having talked to him today, but even knowing where we landed, as long as everything came out all right with everything, he is going to do everything he could to be on that football field next Monday.”

Monday night’s title game in Houston kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET from NRG Stadium. Michigan is a five-point favorite with the over/under set at 55.5 points.