What was learned from Michigan winning the College Football Playoff national championship

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As the final seconds ticked down on the scoreboard Monday night in Houston, the end of an era arrived. 

The four-team College Football Playoff, first established in 2015, crowned its final champion as the Michigan Wolverines won their first title since 1997. 

Michigan Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) holds the national championship trophy as he celebrates after winning the 2024 title game against the Washington Huskies at NRG Stadium in Houston Jan. 8, 2024. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)

College football will have a different look in 2024 with a 12-team playoff before it inevitably grows. 

The Pac-12 conference will no longer really exist after 10 of its 12 schools bolted for greener pastures and more money. 

MICHIGAN WINS COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP OVER WASHINGTON

Name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal will continue to take over the sport until regulations are put in place, making college football similar to professional sports with players bouncing from team to team. 

Fans and those who cover the sport will have more than seven months to discuss the coming changes and the future of the sport. But for one finas night, college football focused on the field, crowning Michigan its champion. 

Let’s take a look at what we learned in the final college football game of the 2023 season. 

Entering the CFP national championship, the Michigan defense was elite, allowing the fewest points (9.5) and the second-fewest yards (239.7) per game in the country. 

And while Michigan held Alabama to just 288 yards and sacked quarterback Jalen Milroe six times in a CFP semifinal, the Washington offense