B/R's College Football Weekly Awards: NY6 and CFB Playoff Semis

Headlined by Michigan and Washington each winning a College Football Playoff semifinal, the biggest bowl games of the 2023 season are in the books.

Michigan beat Alabama 27-20 in overtime, and Washington swatted a last-second pass to defeat Texas 37-31. The winners of the Rose and Sugar Bowls are headed to the CFP National Championship Game, which will be played on Monday in Houston.

You know those important results aren't our only focus, though.

Florida State's horrible loss in the Orange Bowl has sparked a national conversation, and it's time for a rare soapbox moment.

Before we get there, however, we'll celebrate Missouri, Ole Miss and two wildly successful years for a pair of non-traditional powers.

If you're new here, hi! B/R's Weekly Awards is an often-lighthearted review of what happened in college football over the weekend.

As they've repeatedly done since late September, the Huskies needed every single ounce of a team effort to survive.

For the 14th straight game in the 2023 season, that was enough.

Washington leaned heavily on Michael Penix Jr., who passed for 430 yards and two scores in a 37-31 victory over Texas in the Sugar Bowl. He was merely one integral part of a wild performance from the Dawgs.

Dillon Johnson only rushed for 49 yards on 21 carries but scored twice. Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk both topped 100 receiving yards. Bralen Trice tallied two sacks, and Elijah Jackson emphatically swatted away a Texas pass in the end zone as time expired. Grady Gross buried three important field goals in the second half.

Offense, defense, special teams—it truly took everyone.

Washington is seeking its first national championship since sharing the 1991 crown with Miami.

Two years ago, the Wolverines fell to Georgia 34-11 as a hefty underdog in a CFP semifinal. Last season, a strongly favored Michigan squad collapsed in a 51-45 upset loss to TCU.

Fortunately for Jim Harbaugh, the old saying held true: The third time was the charm.

Alabama, as expected, put up a massive fight. Michigan dominated the first half defensively, but a mishandled punt and botched extra point allowed the Crimson Tide to stay within 13-10 at the break. Bama ultimately held a 20-13 advantage late in the fourth quarter, too.

But the Maize and Blue fought back.

J.J. McCarthy led a game-tying drive, hitting Roman Wilson for a short touchdown with 1:34 remaining to force overtime. During the extra session, All-American running back Blake Corum turned two carries into 25 yards and a go-ahead score.

Michigan's defense then stonewalled Jalen Milroe on a 4th-and-goal, sealing a memorable 27-20 triumph for Harbaugh and the program.

Finally, the Wolverines aren't just Big Ten championship-good. They're one victory away from a first national title in 26 years—and a first outright crown in 75 seasons.

The most successful seasons in program history have a common theme: Winning the Cotton Bowl.

Missouri has posted four years of 11-plus victories, and it has now capped three of those with a triumph in the prestigious bowl. Gary Pinkel coached teams in 2007 and 2013 that finished 12-2 with a Cotton Bowl win before Eli Drinkwitz joined the club at 11-2 in 2023.

No, it wasn't a pretty game. Ohio State held a full-strength Mizzou offense scoreless until the fourth quarter.

But the Tigers found a way. Cody Schrader rushed in a short touchdown to open the closing frame, and Brady Cook sealed the 14-3 victory with a late seven-yard throw to star receiver Luther Burden III.

Missouri, which also signed a top-25 recruiting class, can hardly be entering the offseason on a more positive note.

This is why Ole Miss hired Lane Kiffin.

While a proud program, the Rebels have a single AP Top 10 finish (2015) outside of the 1950s and 1960s. Season length is a historical factor, of course, but Ole Miss had never before surpassed 10 wins in a year.

In fact, the school never hit double-digit victories during a regular season prior to Kiffin's arrival in 2020.

He's already done that twice—and a 38-25 triumph over Penn State in the Peach Bowl meant the Rebels set a program record with 11 wins. They are guaranteed to end as a Top 10 team in 2023.

The once-controversial coach has changed the trajectory of Ole Miss football in four short years.

Bo Nix spent the 2019-21 seasons at Auburn, where he descended from a breakout freshman to a frustrating quarterback who simply had no answers for the best opponents.

Oregon, however, unleashed the best version of Nix.

After throwing for 7,251 yards and 39 touchdowns at Auburn, he racked up more than 8,000 yards with 74 passing scores in two seasons in Oregon's offense. Nix also rushed for 20 touchdowns with the Ducks.

Nix capped his stellar run in a 45-6 blowout of Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl, passing for 363 yards and five touchdowns.

As the Ducks prepare to break in Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel while the program leaves the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, Nix is headed to the pros. There's no question he'll be a relatively early pick in the 2024 NFL draft—something that seemed unconscionable just two years ago.

Something will change.

I cannot be certain about what happens next, but Florida State not having 14 starters in the Orange Bowl was embarrassing.

Not for FSU or the players, by the way.

Yeah, the 63-3 destruction at the hands of Georgia isn't a proud moment for the program. Florida State, though, had absolutely zero motivation for the contest, which was an unwelcome consolation prize for being robbed of a trip to the College Football Playoff.

For the last decade, the NCAA has watched money-chasing executives and networks create a championship-or-bust mentality. It's no wonder FSU felt no attachment to the Orange Bowl. Along the way, bowl season has been deemphasized terribly—yet not irreparably.

Even in the recent BCS era, bowls mattered. We're not talking about a forgettable sense of nostalgia, either.

We watched the Chick-fil-A Bowl ring in ball-dropping countdowns and spent the following afternoon with the Capital One, Gator and Outback Bowls. Making a New Year's Day bowl was accepted as a legitimate goal for many programs and, more importantly, celebrated.

The postseason was a reward, not a half-hearted obligation.

One of the reasons we created Weekly Awards is this exact problem. I want to brag about Arizona, Missouri and Ole Miss having fantastic years or Wyoming coach Craig Bohl riding off into the sunset as the only coach in program history to win multiple bowls—and he got four! I want everyone to enjoy Jacksonville State, South Alabama, Texas State and UTSA landing their first-ever bowl victories. It matters!

There are so many ideas for solutions. My first suggestion is allowing the bowls to directly pay players for their involvement. The early signing period might need to be reconsidered, too.

But as the CFP expands to 12 teams in 2024, something needs to change. Florida State just broke the camel's back.

Recruit rankings via 247Sports unless otherwise noted.