5 reasons why Michigan Wolverines dominated the 2023 college football season

The Michigan Wolverines went 15-0 this season and won the national championship.

Michigan defeated the Washington Huskies 34-13 on Monday to win the title to cement their team as one of the greatest ever.

Following the Wolverines' win in the national championship, here are five reasons why Michigan did win the title.

5 reasons why the Michigan Wolverines dominated the college football season

#1 Defense

The Michigan Wolverines had one of the best defenses in all of college football and it propelled them to the national championship.

In the regular season, Michigan allowed just 9.5 points per game, the fewest in a regular season since the Alabama Crimson Tide allowed just 8.8 PPG in 2011.

The Wolverines held eight of its opponents to single digits and also recorded two shutouts in the regular season. Michigan also forced 25 turnovers this season.

#2 Blake Corum & the run game

Blake Corum led the Wolverines running game

Michigan's offense was run-heavy as Blake Corum finished the season with 1,245 yards and 27 touchdowns. In the national championship, Corum ran for 134 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns, while Donovan Edwards added 104 yards on six carries and two touchdowns.

The Wolverines, for the season, rushed for 121 first downs, while averaging 4.5 yards per carry and 169.1 rushing yards per game, while also rushing for 40 touchdowns.

#3 Offensive line

Michigan was built in the trenches but their offensive line was one of, if not the, best in the country.

The Wolverines entered this year having won the Joe Moore Award in '21 and '22 for having the nation's best offensive line.

This season, the Wolverines' offensive line allowed just 20 sacks all season long, which allowed J.J. McCarthy to have success, and the run game to be one of the best in the nation.

#4 J.J. McCarthy

J.J. McCarthy was Michigan's starting QB

The Michigan Wolverines offense was run-first, but quarterback J.J. McCarthy still made plays when he needed to.

McCarthy finished the season with a career-high 2,851 passing yards plus 22 touchdowns and a career-low four interceptions while having a QBR of 89.5. This was third-best in the country, behind Bo Nix and Jayden Daniels.

Along with that, McCarthy didn't make many bad decisions, as he was smart with the football which allowed Michigan to get points on drives and win the field position battle.

#5 Adversity

The final reason why the Michigan Wolverines won the national championship was because of all the adversity they faced and how close it made the team.

Jim Harbaugh was suspended on two different occasions, for a recruiting violation and due to the sign-stealing allegations. After he was suspended for the sign-stealing allegations, Michigan rallied around it and Harbaugh says that helped motivate them.

"The emotion of the team. The perseverance. The stalwartness of these guys. Yeah, watching that I would have to say, it's gotta be 'America's team.' America loves a team that beats the odds and beats the adversity," Harbaugh said of his team in November. "(It) overcomes what the naysayers, critics, and so-called experts think. That's my favorite kinda team."

Whether or not they still would have won without the suspension of Harbaugh is uncertain, but the Wolverines rallied around it.