We’re at the end of the road for the four-team College Football Playoffs. This four-team tournament to put an end to picking champions through polls and actually to decide everything on the field ends as we know it.

It wasn’t actually a four-team playoff per se; it was everybody battling it out for three spots and Alabama.

Because of the great success of this four-team playoff and how it ended all debate on who would play for a national title, we’re expanding to 12 teams next season. It’s gonna be great. Alabama and 11 other teams get to fight it out to see who will win the national championship.

So, let’s look at tonight’s game, the Michigan Wolverines vs. Washington Huskies, the way it should be — a preview for a Big Ten conference matchup on Oct. 5 next season! Sorry, we couldn’t help it.

We went 2-2 on our Dec. 30 picks and 4-1 on the five New Year’s Day picks, with the only loss in the Rose Bowl. That makes our bowl record 21-19-1, guaranteeing us a winning record. Hard to believe after the first round of picks. Let’s dive into our college football picks for the CFP National Championship Game.

College Football Picks: Washington vs. Michigan

Let’s start with a quick rundown of everything you need to know before the national championship game.

2024 CFP National Championship game info

• TV: ESPN
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Location: NRG Stadium – Houston, Texas
• Line: -4.5, Michigan Wolverines
• Point Total: 56.5 points

Michigan survived that semifinal tilt with Alabama. Other than bookmakers, not many folks saw that coming.

But the Wolverines were better defensively than most of us wanted to believe. They were able to make the right stops at the right time and they were able to get turnovers from a team that never commits turnovers.

Washington, on the other hand, beat Texas handily. Well, handily until the final few minutes when the Huskies had to hold on for dear life. But before that then, Washington was winning handily.

What we will have in tonight’s game is a team the we underestimated defensively against a team with a quarterback that pro scouts underestimate. Michael Penix is rated the fifth-best QB for the upcoming NFL draft. Fifth?

Other than maybe, what, fans of five NFL teams, who wouldn’t want that guy running your offense? Penix was superb, fitting passes into tight spots, leading receivers perfectly on deep balls, and making the right reads overall. If there are four quarterbacks in this draft better than him, the NFL is about to get way more exciting.

What Michigan’s defense did to Alabama is something we haven’t seen much of either. Ask a lot of teams; Auburn comes to mind; what usually happens when you have the Crimson Tide fourth and not short on the goal line?

So this game comes down to the best NFL QB prospect (unofficially) against the best defense in the country (according to those teams, like Auburn, that we just spoke about). We should be in for a fun night.

Who is favored to win the national championship?

Michigan is a -4.5 to beat Washington at most major sportsbooks. On the money line, Michigan is -196.

Who will win: Michigan or Washington?

Everything tells us to take Michigan. The way the Wolverines handled Alabama’s quarterback Jalen Milroe, and the passing game was impressive. Also, the injury to Washington running back Dillon Johnson at the end of the semifinal is a concern. The Huskies are saying he’s OK and will play, but he might not be 100%, not good against this defense.

We’re also expecting a big game from Wolverines running back Blake Corum. He was held in check most of the night against Alabama, but got the big yards when he needed and scored the game-winning TD in overtime.

Penix has three more years of playing time under his belt than Milroe. He’s more polished and more NFL-ready. He has a legit NFL receiver in Rome Odunze and a group of top-notch receivers to throw to. We think he’ll be able to move the ball against the best defense he has seen this year.

So between the best defense vs. the (unofficially) best quarterback, we’re going with the quarterback. We’ll take Washington and the points.