CFP national championship: Washington maintains underdog status ahead of Michigan matchup

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It has been a wild year in the world of college football, as the seeds of change have been planted. 

It began when the College Football Playoff announced that it would go to a 12-team format starting in 2024, ending the 10-year run of the four-team edition. Conference realignment took over the summer, as the Pac-12 disintegrated as a major conference before Deion Sanders and Colorado were headlining news for the first part of the season. 

ESPN takes video footage of the NCAA football national championship trophy before the Tax Act Texas Bowl at NRG Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023 in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

The Michigan sign-stealing scandal was all anyone could talk about a month before an undefeated Florida State was left out of the CFP, sparking a massive debate over who belonged in the four-team playoff. 

That is all in the past now. 

FOX SPORTS’ TIM BRANDO DISCUSSES POSSIBLE WASHINGTON NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE PAC-12 DEPARTURE

Washington and Michigan have emerged from all the stories as undefeated teams vying for the national championship on Monday night in Houston. 

Let’s take a look at some of the betting lines for the CFP national championship as of Thursday from Caesars Sportsbook. 

Money line: -190 Spread: -4.5

Michigan needed a fourth-quarter comeback and overtime to beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl, but they are now one win away from the program's first national title since 1997. 

Jim Harbaugh went for it on fourth down at the Alabama 40-yard line late in the fourth quarter, and quarterback J.J. McCarthy rewarded Harbugh’s faith with a completion to Blake Corum that went for 27