As BetOnline customers get ready for the national championship gamne at the conclusion of the last four-team College Football Playoff, much of the discussion that has surrounded the Michigan Wolverines and their controversial roller coaster ride has not died down. If you haven’t been following things, you know that head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is rumored to be on his way to the NFL in this off-season, has gone through not one, but two suspensions. And Michigan has becoming embroiled in a sort of sign stealing scandal, in which an athletic department employee recorded hand signals that other teams of the Big Ten were using to call plays.

That's "illegal," and a lot of people are taking that seriously. In fact, the whole story has not yet been heard.

Can the Wolverines wash away some of that "guilt" with a championship win?

Michigan proved itself to be the class of the Big Ten. Perhaps legitimately, perhaps not. But they are here, in Houston, with an opportunity to go through the entire season unscathed, and that includes the rugged conference schedule.

But now the question is whether they can beat a team that, like them, is unbeaten, and offers a passing attack unlike what they have seen this season - the Washington Huskies, with Heisman Trophy runner-up Michael Penix.

Harbaugh recently erased some demons. Going into last week's semi-final win over Alabama, he had lost the last six bowl games he’s participated in. but it’s quite possible that his team will have to ramp things up to a higher level, as Penix brings more improvisational skills and a better all-around arm than the guy they faced last Monday, Jalen Milroe.

In the college football playoff betting odds on this NCAA National Championship game, as they have been posted at BetOnline, Michigan is the favorite:

Michigan Wolverines -5.5 (-105)
Washington Huskies +5.5 (-115)

Over 56 points -115
Under 56 points -105

No one wants to throw shade on Michigan’s own signal caller. JJ McCarthy completed an outstanding 73% of his passes this season, with 22 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. He threw for 221 yards and three scores against the Crimson Tide, so he may still be getting over that ankle injury, which bothered him toward the end of the season.

McCarthy notably did not close with a head of steam, throwing for just 496 total yards over his previous four games.

So how much can he get Roman Wilson involved? Wilson had 73 yards on four catches last week, including the TD that sent the Alabama game into overtime, and he is probably the most dangerous member of what is not necessarily the most threatening receiving corps in the nation. Michigan can't allow U-Dub to take him out of the game.

Where Michigan hopes to do its business, for the most part, is on the ground. Blake Corum has been touted as one of the outstanding running backs in the country, and this year he rushed for 1111 yards and 25 touchdowns, the latest of which won last week's semi-final game for the Maize and Blue. Donovan Edwards is said to complete the best 1-2 punch in anyone's backfield, but Edwards only averaged 3.5 yards per attempt this season.

In fact, the suggestion that Michigan may be able to do much more except grind out long drives incrementally might be mythical. This team reached five yards a carry only once in their last eight games. So we would hardly call them dominant offensively in doing what they want to do (the Wolverines have about a 60-40 ratio of runs to passes). And you know what? Maybe that's good news for a Washington defense that, through advanced metrics, is ranked 132nd in the nation in Adjusted Line Yards. And at the very least, it promotes some "under" thinking, since Michigan is less likely to explode for huge plays when running the football.

When it comes down to it, Michigan hinges much of its hopes not on offense, but on defense, because it's been documented that they have one of the best in the nation. Michigan has allowed only 243 yards per game, and only two teams reached the 300 mark against them. By the way, Alabama (288) wa snot one of them. After a Big Ten title game shutout of offensively challenged Iowa, they proceeded to sack Milroe six times and prevent him from uncorking any big passes. All told, Michigan allows 150 passing yards per game.

This, naturally, is going to be a diffetrent challenge altogether for them. Washington not only has Penix and a full cast of receivers that they will have on the field at any given time, they can balance with the run game if Dillon Johnson's foot injuries allow him to have some effectiveness . Michigan had Ohio State and Penn State on its schedule; those are the big guns. Aside from that, just a lot of fringe bowl teams, like UNLV, Bowling Green, Rutgers, Minnesota, and Maryland. And all throughoutthis schedule, they have not faced anyone like Penix or any offensive arsenal like that of Washington. And it's not even close.

So if they think they're going to bully their way to this one, they better be careful.

Go over to BetOnline and get more betting options on the NCAA Championship game than you can get anywhere else! And remember that before the game, you can use Odds Boosters and Prop Builder to explore all the angles, with live betting available after the kickoff. Nobody gets shut out, because you can use your credit card or any of sixteen different cryptocurrency options to open up an account!