The punishment for the Michigan cheating scandal was just handed down earlier this afternoon, and it is… supremely disappointing.
Call me a cynic, but is a postseason revenue ban for a school with the second-richest man funneling money into its NIL fund really a punishment?
I am sure many people, myself included, were expecting a full-on bowl ban or perhaps a forfeiting of the 2023 National Championship.
No such luck, I'm afraid, but it did give me an idea.
If Michigan were stripped of its national title from two seasons ago, which team would be the most deserving?
The answer might surprise you, especially considering where my allegiances fall in college football, but I will go through a handful of teams I think deserve to hang a banner in the aftermath of this bombshell of an announcement.
This one might seem like the most obvious, seeing as how the Huskies were the only team standing in the way of Michigan and a championship banner, but I don't think Washington is a particularly deserving team.
For starters, Wolverines likely still win this game comfortably with or without Connor Stalions.
Michigan was a much stronger team on both lines of scrimmage and that was evident throughout almost the entirety of the championship game.
I also firmly believe Washington was the weakest of the four teams that made the 2023 College Football Playoff and, while results on the field matter, I am of the mind that if the Huskies and Longhorns played their semi-final matchup 10 times, the Longhorns would probably win eight of them.
I can't, in good conscience, award a national championship to a team that caught Texas on a bad night and got physically dominated on the biggest stage.
You could make the argument that Alabama should be the ones raising the CFP trophy instead of Michigan, having lost an overtime thriller to the Wolverines in the semi-finals in Pasadena.
However, I might have to push back just a little bit, as the Crimson Tide's numerous mistakes and self-inflicted wounds, headlined by center Seth McLaughlin's snapping issues, were too plentiful to ignore.
It's hard to say Bama deserves this one over Michigan when they couldn't even get out of their own way.
Tide fans won't like it, but Saban's legacy in Tuscaloosa still ends with an official loss as his final game.
Ohio State is the most obvious choice to reap the benefits of Michigan's hypothetical vacated championship.
The Connor Stalions Saga is centered around the Michigan-Ohio State game, meaning his efforts affected the outcome of this rivalry more so than any other game during Michigan's three-year run of dominance.
The Buckeyes had the more talented roster between the two teams for all three years, so it's fair to say Ohio State likely wins at least one of the matchups against their hated rivals from the north.
The 2023 showdown in particular kept the Buckeyes out of both the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff, so with Michigan losing their "scouting advantage," it opens the door for Ohio State to win it all.
Michigan having to relinquish its conference and national titles to its biggest rival would be such a twisting of the knife it almost feels like cruel and unusual punishment.
You might not have seen this one coming, but I think the best team of the 2023 season (and, arguably the most deserving) is the Georgia Bulldogs.
As much as it pains me to say it, the Dawgs were the most complete team the year Michigan won it all, and have a history of embarrassing the Wolverines in the College Football Playoff.
Georgia had won 29 straight games dating back to the 2021 postseason, and would surely have gotten a rematch against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2023 edition of the Playoff, their lone loss that season.
With a month to prepare for the Tide and their one-dimensional, Jalen Milroe-led offense, I truly believe Kirby Smart and company would've run roughshod over Alabama and the field.
Georgia's demolition derby demonstration in the 2023 Orange Bowl against then-undefeated Florida State was only further proof that the Dawgs deserved better than a consolation prize to end the season.
With Michigan out of the way, perhaps the Bulldogs backdoor their way into the Playoff and go on a revenge tour.
We will never know for sure though, as the NCAA is opting to keep Michigan's name in the record books.
Who do you think should take the crown from the Wolverines? Let me know by emailing me at austin.perry@outkick.com.
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