While this is the first time Michigan and Washington have faced in the College Football Playoff championship, both are schools with a history of football success.
Michigan became the first college football program to reach 1,000 wins earlier this season when it beat Maryland. Washington’s first program came 35 years after Michigan and has 672 wins.
When it comes to national championships, well, it gets tricky. There have been so many services throughout the years to award championships that Michigan has a closet full of titles if it wants to claim them. The last of which came in 1997, one it split with Nebraska.
Washington won in 1991, and it split that title with Miami. But the Huskies could also claim quite a few that season with the various services.
Here are each school’s national championships and the polls or services that awarded them the title.
Michigan’s national championships
| Season | Record | Coach | Bowl result | Polls, Services |
| 1901 | 11–0 | Fielding Yost | Won Rose over Stanford 49-0 | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation |
| 1902 | 11–0 | Fielding Yost | Billingsley, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis | |
| 1903 | 11-0-1 | Fielding Yost | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation | |
| 1904 | 10-0 | Fielding Yost | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation | |
| 1918 | 5-0 | Fielding Yost | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation | |
| 1923 | 8-0 | Fielding Yost | Billingsley, National Championship Foundation | |
| 1932 | 8-0 | Harry G. Kipke | Dickinson, Parke Davis | |
| 1933 | 7-0-1 | Harry G. Kipke | Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, College Football Researchers Association, Dickinson, Helms, Houlgate, National Championship Foundation, Parke Davis, Poling System, Sagarin | |
| 1947 | 10-0 | Fritz Crisler | Won Rose over USC 49-0 | Berryman, Billingsley, Boand, College Football Researchers Association, DeVold, Dunkel, Helms, Houlgate, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, Sagarin, Special post-bowl Associated Press poll |
| 1948 | 9-0 | Bennie Oosterbaan | Associated Press, Berryman, Billingsley, College Football Researchers Association, DeVold, Dunkel, Helms, Houlgate, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, Sagarin, Williamson | |
| 1997 | 12-0 | Lloyd Carr | Won Rose over Washington State 21-16 | Associated Press, Billingsley, Football Writers Association, National Championship Foundation, National Football Foundation, Sporting News |
Washington’s national championships
| Year | Record | Coach | Bowl | Poll, Service |
| 1960 | 10–1 | Jim Owens | Won Rose over Minnesota 17-7 | Helms Athletic Foundation |
| 1991 | 12–0 | Don James | Won Rose over Michigan 34-14 | Berryman, Billingsly, DeVold, Dunkel, Football News, Football Writers Association, Matthews Grid Rankings, National Championship Foundation, Rothman, Sagarin, UPI/NFF, USAT/CNN |