HOUSTON — All eyes in the college football world will be on Houston on Monday night, as the Michigan Wolverines and the Washington Huskies square off in the College Football Playoff national championship game at NRG Stadium.
The game is set to kick off at 7:30 ET (6:30 CT) and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Michigan (14-0) is currently ranked #1 in the country, while Washington (14-0) checks in at #2.
The Wolverines are one win away from a perfect 15-0 season. It would be just the fourth time a college football history a team has gone 15-0, the others being 2019 LSU, 2018 Clemson, and 1896 Yale.
Michigan began the season with non-conference wins over Eastern Carolina, UNLV, and BGSU. Each of those wins were without head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline, serving a three game, self-imposed suspension for alleged violations related to recruiting during the 2020 offseason.
After Harbaugh's return, the Wolverines won their next four games over Big Ten opponents by a combined score of a 180-31. Opponents were Rutgers, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Indiana.
RELATED: 'It made us unbreakable': Michigan leans on 'unity' as national championship is within sight
Following Michigan's win over the Hoosiers, reports surfaced of an alleged sign-stealing operation within the program. The University suspended staffer Connor Stalions with pay. Stalions is alleged to have attended and/or paid others to attend Michigan's future opponents games in an effort to gain knowledge of the team's signs.
In the Wolverines next game versus rival Michigan State, the Maize & Blue shut out the Spartans 49-0. The following week, Michigan defeated Purdue 41-13. This would prove to be Harbaugh's last game of the regular season, before Big Ten Commissioner Tony Pettiti imposed a three game-suspension for the Toledo native on the eve of the Wolverine's game against then-#9 Penn State.
Led by offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore, Michigan defeated the Nittany Lions 24-15. The following week, the Wolverines defeated Maryland 31-24 before turning their attention to rival #2 Ohio State.
Without Harbaugh, Michigan would go on to defeat the Buckeyes 30-24, the Maize & Blue's third consecutive win over Ohio State. The Wolverines followed that win with a 26-0 shutout victory over Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game, securing Michigan's third straight conference title.
The Wolverines reached a milestone Jan. 1, when the team defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 27-20 in overtime, to claim the Maize and Blue's first Rose Bowl Title since 1998.
Washington similarly, is undefeated, looking to go a perfect 15-0 for the season. The 2023 Huskies have already won more games than any team in school history, and are the first to win a College Football Playoff game.
Washington is led by head coach Kalen DeBoer, in his second season leading the Huskies. In two seasons with the program, DeBoer's teams have gone an impressive 25-2, the only losses coming in 2022 in back-to-back games to UCLA and Arizona State.
RELATED: Strength vs. strength for CFP title: Michigan's stingy pass D faces Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
DeBoer previously served as head coach at Fresno State for two seasons, and before that served as offensive coordinator at Indiana.
Washington is led at quarterback by Michael Penix Jr., a transfer who played under DeBoer at Indiana in 2019. Penix Jr. has leads the Huskies with more than 4,600 passing yards and 35 passing touchdowns for an offense that ranks 10th nationally in yards per game.
Penix Jr. earned the Maxwell Award, which is given to the player considered the best all-around in college football. Penix Jr. also earned First Team All-American honors, and an invitation to the Heisman Trophy Ceremony in New York.
MORE FROM WTOL 11: