This was supposed to be a 4-hour celebration of all things Big Ten.

The now and the future, and the climb to the top of the college football mountaintop.

Yet somehow, Iowa showed up.

Or a couple of versions of Iowa. Or really, the Playoff National Championship Game became what it was: another Big Ten game.

Defense, punts, dumb penalties, complaining about dumb penalties, critical turnovers, dropped passes, dysfunctional play calling. And more punts.

Did I say punts?

At some point during Michigan’s 34-13 victory over future Big Ten rival Washington on Monday night, I had a visceral yearning for a healthy Jordan Travis.

Because Florida State beats either of these teams with a healthy star quarterback — and a full squad of no opt-outs. Frankly, Georgia does, too.

But that’s another story for another time. Actually, that time begins next season, when the Playoff expands to 12 teams and Georgia isn’t on the outside looking in.

For now, though, this was a B1G celebration. And it looked every bit of it.

Punts are sexy again, everyone.

“Took on all comers,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We’re the last one standing. Such a glorious feeling.”

Such a B1G feeling.

To be fair, Michigan forced the biggest game of the season into its tight, tidy box of inevitable Big Ten pain. It ran the ball well early, played stout defense all game and dictated tempo.

It was Big Ten 101, a picturesque celebration that’ll have all Michigan Men singing Hail to the Victors for decades to come. A perfect 15-0 record, asterisks be damned.

You wanted Big Ten on this holy night of college football, you got it. And everything that goes with it.

The teams combined for 10 punts, and prior to the last drive of the game, Washington had nearly as many punting yards (243) as passing yards (246) from All-American quarterback Michael Penix Jr.

With 7 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter until 7 minutes to play in the 4th quarter — a critical moment in the game with Michigan holding a precarious 7-point lead — the teams combined for 6 drives.

The ugly breakdown: 26 combined plays for 83 yards and 6 punts.

It’s enough to make you long for the excuse of Brian Ferentz.

The slow bleed finally and mercifully ended when Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy — who played his worst game of the season — connected on 2 big throws for 53 yards to set up another Blake Corum touchdown and put the game out of reach with a 2-touchdown lead.

A 2-touchdown lead for Michigan in the Big Ten over the past 2 seasons may as well have been a 2-touchdown lead for Georgia against anyone in college football. And that’s kind of the point of this Michigan team.

Two years ago, after getting whipped by Georgia in the Playoff semifinal, Michigan began changing who and what it was to deal with Georgia again down the road. Harbaugh recruited a 5-star quarterback (instead of relying on transfer quarterbacks), developed him and got him ready to play.

He recruited the lines of scrimmage and landed elite defensive linemen (see: Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Moore) and developed others (Kris Jenkins, Jaylen Harrell), and searched the transfer portal for impact additions on the offensive line.

They never got another shot at Georgia, but they took out the hottest team in college football this season in the Rose Bowl semifinal (Alabama), and then clamped down on Washington and its hot-white quarterback and offense.

Harbaugh had this team so dialed in and so ready for anything and everyone this fall, it somehow won 6 games — half of the regular season — with him serving 2 separate 3-game suspensions from the university and the Big Ten for allegations from 2 separate and current NCAA investigations.

A remarkable run despite the distractions — despite the undeniable reality that this was likely the last run for Harbaugh at Michigan with the NCAA sheriff closing in. So many things could’ve derailed this train, and the 1 thing that held it all together was simple fundamentals.

Blocking. Tackling. Running the ball. Playing great defense.

About as B1G as big gets. From a 4-hour celebration of all things Big Ten, to a season-long coronation of the return of Michigan.

“I can now sit at the big person’s table,” Harbaugh said, referencing his dad Jack’s national title at Western Kentucky, and his brother John’s Super Bowl with the Ravens. “They can’t keep me on the little table anymore.”

After winning the first Playoff in 2014 (Ohio State), the Big Ten can no longer be denied, too. And it’s just getting started.

The college football world changes in 2024, the SEC and Big Ten expanding into super conferences and moving closer to controlling all things 12-team Playoff. The 2024-25 Playoffs will be a 5+7 format, where the top 5 conference champions will receive automatic bids to the tournament — in addition to 7 at-large selections.

When the new Playoff contract arrives in 2026, it more than likely will include a new format: all 12 spots will be at-large selections. There will be no automatic qualifiers.

In other words, the field is wide open for the SEC and Big Ten to control the Playoff. If this year’s Playoff were 12 teams with no automatic qualifiers, 11 of the 12 teams (not including Florida State) would’ve been SEC or Big Ten teams.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Enjoy the moment, Michigan. Revel in all things Big Ten.

Punts are sexy again.