The College Football Playoff championship is quite the stage for Washington and Michigan to get reacquainted with each other.

Blake Corum could have declared for the NFL draft after last season, but the Michigan running back had unfinished business.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel slammed analyst Kirk Herbstreit for suggesting the Michigan football team shut down over fear of losing to Ohio State, rather than a legitimate COVID-19 outbreak. “I still think Michigan waves the white flag, and potentially avoids playing Ohio State next week,” Herbstreit said. Ohio State has already had two games canceled this season, so presumably, missing the Michigan game would knock the Buckeyes from contention. Head coach Jim Harbaugh of the Michigan Wolverines looks on during the fourth quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Stadium on October 31, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (2020 Getty Images)Not to mention, dozens of other programs -- including Ohio State, just three days prior to these comments!

Manuel spoke hours after Michigan's game against Maryland this weekend was canceled because of an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Wolverines' program. Ohio State had to cancel its game last week at Illinois because of a spike in COVID-19 cases in its program. Matchups against Ohio State and Michigan State were wiped out last month after the Terrapins had 23 positive tests for COVID-19, including coach Michael Locksley. ___AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo contributed. ___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

Ohio State (4-0) had to cancel its game at Illinois last week because of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the program. HERBSTREIT APOLOGYESPN's Kirk Herbstreit caused a commotion with some of his analysis regarding Ohio State, Michigan and teams using COVID-19 as an excuse to not play. The Wolverines (2-4) are scheduled to host Maryland this week and play at Ohio State on Dec. 12. “I still think Michigan waves the white flag, potentially avoids playing Ohio State next week,” Herbstreit said. the former Ohio State quarterback said.

ESPN College Gameday hosts Davis, David Pollack and Kirk Herbstreit prepare for their live broadcast from Notre Dame Stadium before the NCAA college football game between the Notre Dame and the Clemson in South Bend, Ind. (Matt Cashore/Pool Photo via AP)NBC says it will cut away from the football game between No. 4 Notre Dame on Saturday night to show Democrat Joe Biden’s first speech as president-elect. The game will move back to NBC after coverage of the speech concludes. 1 team to play at Notre Dame since 2005.