Washington got ‘put through the wringer’ in the Pac-12. Monday’s CFP championship vs. Michigan is a peek into the future.

HOUSTON — Leading into the Pac-12 title game, the finality of it all hit Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer. This was it. This was the final championship game in the Pac-12 as we knew it.

After the season, the “12″ were going their separate ways, whether it was the Big Ten like DeBoer’s Huskies or the ACC, Big 12, or a fate uncertain.

But what a wild ride.

“We got put through the wringer with our conference schedule playing a lot of good teams,” DeBoer said Saturday as No. 2 Washington prepared to face No. 1 Michigan in Monday night’s College Football Playoff championship game (7:30 p.m., ESPN) in NRG Stadium. “I think it helped us prepare for a semifinal game. And it will have helped us prepare for this championship game on Monday.”

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Now, of course, he’s focused on the Wolverines. And there’s a lot to think about. Like Washington, Michigan is 14-0 and a conference champion. The Wolverines will counter Heisman finalist Michael Penix Jr. and his phalanx of talented receivers with the nation’s top total defense, which allows just 243.1 yards and 10.2 points per game. Offensively, J.J. McCarthy (2,851 passing yards) and Blake Corum (1,111 rushing yards) lead the way.

“They’re just very disruptive,” offensive lineman Troy Fautanu said of the Wolverines’ front in particular. “They get in the backfield; they make plays. We just [have] to make sure we go out there with the right mindset and execute the game plan that the coaches have for us.”

As DeBoer considered the 2023 season, though, he remembered the staff gearing up for a Pac-12 contest and reflecting on what those games meant to the fan base. He says he wasn’t fully sure what was happening until his program left the Pac-12, but he thinks the summer’s chaotic realignment was a natural part of his sport’s growth.

“I think that the coaches, the programs that can continue to evolve with the times and adjust, those are the ones that are going to be most successful,” he said. “But I don’t have a perfect answer on what the fix is. Certainly willing to be a part of committees or whatever it might be to talk through and work with the coaches across the country to make the little tweaks year to year that need to be done and to try to stay away from those unfortunate situations that have popped up — not just this year, but in the past couple of years.”

It may be a new conference for DeBoer and the Huskies, but they aren’t going in blind. Penix first made a name for himself as Indiana’s quarterback from 2018 to 2021, and DeBoer himself was the Hoosiers’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach in 2019. As for 2024, they’ll get a taste of the East Coast with road games against Rutgers (Sept. 28) and Penn State (Nov. 9). As for a rematch with Michigan? That would take place Oct. 5 in Seattle.

“We have a lot of connections with our coaching staff having a lot of Midwest and Big Ten former coaches on it already,” DeBoer said. “But we’re always going to challenge ourselves to be our best. And it isn’t just about the Big Ten; it’s about the evolution of your team and college football and trying to do what you need to do to beat the people at the top of the mountain and competing with them.”

The Huskies certainly racked up the frequent flyer miles in the past few weeks. After beating Texas, 37-31, in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, they returned to Seattle instead of taking the 348-mile trek west on Interstate 10.

Why?

“For us, I think it was a lot of different things, not just with this team but also some of the stuff we had going on with a quarter system school and some transfers, high school early enrollees that were coming in; we had 11 guys there that were already taking classes,” DeBoer said.

He added that he and the staff thought the familiarity of home would help in the two practices the Huskies held before coming back down South. They also got some positive news, health-wise, as 1,000-yard rusher Dillon Johnson, who aggravated a lower-leg injury against Texas, is expected to play.

“It’s been a quick turnaround. … Seven days from Sugar Bowl to national championship,” he said. “But I’ve tried to make sure and be intentional that this moment is special. It’s great when you’re in playoff football when you know when your last game is going to be. And you can have a moment here, a moment there where you can really appreciate how far we’ve come, whether it’s this year or over the last two years.”

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Jim Harbaugh hopes to have a future. Don’t we all.

The Michigan coach was unwilling to discuss possibilities for himself beyond Monday night, but like for much of the season, it was a hot topic Saturday. And at times earlier this season, that future seemed precarious as he served a three-game suspension, which included his team’s win over Penn State, amid an investigation into alleged sign-stealing. But he credited his players’ trust in each other as a major factor in their success.

“And it had nothing to do with what was going on at all,” he said. “It was more about the choice our guys were making. The choice to unanimously support each guy. You know what I mean? On the field, off the field, same kind of support they get at home from their parents and their family members.”

But now, he’s focused on Washington. And as for the task at hand?

“Well, the ‘it’ factor that he has. … He’s got no conscience when he’s throwing one of those balls into the tightest window and the confidence that he can put it in there and his receivers are going to make a play,” Harbaugh said of Penix. “That’s scary good. As good as he is in the pocket, he’s deadly when he gets out of the pocket, too, in either direction. It’s formidable. It’s elite.”

Harbaugh had “no real thoughts” on the state of college football, but he had strong opinions on student-athletes sharing in the revenues they bring in — not just football players.

“People come to watch the players. They really don’t come to watch the coaches. They don’t come [to] watch the administrators. They come to watch the players,” he said. “And in a world where the revenue is ever growing, the student-athletes being able to participate in that ever-growing revenue, who could argue against them? And when is that going to change? When is everybody going to start using their voice to say, hey, this is wrong; this isn’t right? There [are] guys out here not even getting paid minimum wage. And I’m not talking about just football players. I’m talking about all student-athletes that need to participate. The talent needs to participate in the ever-growing share of the revenue. I’d like to see that change.”