Written by: Jacob Nevis
Whenever the new year comes around, America’s favorite sport begins winding to a close. The college football season has already come to an end, and the NFL season is in its divisional round of the 2024 playoffs.
College football saw the Michigan Wolverines defeat the Washington Huskies in the National Championship, a first for the winning team under the NCAA college football rule. The Wolverines’ last national championship win was in 1997.
This season, Michigan’s head coach, Jim Harbaugh, was suspended after the program was involved in a sign-stealing scheme. However, this controversy inspired the team to rally around Coach Harbaugh and bring home the national championship.
Harbaugh has been coaching the Wolverines since 2015 and boasts a record of 86-25. Before accepting the coaching job at Michigan, Harbaugh coached the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL and led them to a Super Bowl appearance. Now, after achieving what he set out to do in college football and with his contract coming to an end, Harbaugh might return to coaching the professionals. NFL teams have requested to interview Harbaugh for head coach positions. One team that has shown significant interest in Harbaugh is the Los Angeles Chargers.
In other college football news, one of the best — if not the greatest — college football coaches has retired. Longtime University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban led the school to six national championships. Former Washington Huskies coach Kalen DeBoer, who led his team to a national championship appearance this year, will take over as the head coach of Alabama.
The NFL playoffs are underway, with the wild-card round coming to a close. The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens were the first-seeded teams in their respective conferences, which allowed both teams to get a bye and advance to the divisional round.
The young Houston Texans, led by standout rookie quarterback CJ Stroud, defeated the Cleveland Browns. In one of the coldest games in NFL history, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to knock off the Miami Dolphins.
Another young team, the Green Bay Packers, beat the Dallas Cowboys, whom fans had considered promising earlier this season. The Detroit Lions defeated the Los Angeles Rams, snapping the team’s long-standing losing streak in the playoffs. The Lions hadn’t won a playoff game since 1992. After the Lions’ playoff victory, the Dolphins now hold the longest playoff victory drought, last winning a playoff game in 2000. The Buffalo Bills cruised past the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers crushed the Philadelphia Eagles.
With the wild-card matchups complete, the divisional round matchups are set. In the AFC, the Texans will travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens, while the Chiefs will travel to Buffalo, where quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have to play his first road playoff game, excluding the Super Bowl.
In the NFC, the Packers will travel to California to take on the 49ers, while the Buccaneers will travel up to Detroit to take on the Lions.
