This is simple, really. Beyond all the opponent breakdown and self scouting, one thing stands clear at Michigan in this transcendent season.

When Blake Corum gets the ball, good things happen.

“It was nothing new for me (to watch),” Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy said after Monday’s Rose Bowl victory over Alabama. “It was just amazing the world got to see it.”

The next key question: Will Michigan embrace the obvious in the Playoff National Championship Game against Washington?

Will the Wolverines steer clear of overanalyzing Washington’s tendencies and obvious struggles in pass defense, and zero in on the sheer simplification of giving the ball to their fire hydrant of a tailback — and letting it happen?

Look at the obvious in the win over Alabama, and see a clear path to success for Michigan. In 11 offensive drives, Corum touched the ball (rush or receiving) at least 50% of the time on 4 drives.

All 4 drives led to points — including his game-winning 17-yard touchdown run in overtime.

The 7 drives where Corum didn’t touch the ball 50% of the time: punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, missed FG.

Wait, it gets better. In those 7 unsuccessful drives, Michigan ran 29 plays for 70 yards.

In the 4 drives Corum got 50% of the touches: 28 plays, 258 yards.

“More determined than ever,” Corum said after the Rose Bowl.

This isn’t rocket science, everyone. This is the biggest game of the season, with everything on the line against a hot offense that can score points in bunches.

There’s one undeniable way to keep a hot offense off the field: possess the ball. The best way to do that — the very way Michigan has won 38 of its past 41 games — is to stick the ball in the belly of Corum and get out of the way.

It’s tempting to let McCarthy open up the offense because of his skill level and ability to make every throw. Michigan has the skill players on the outside to win, and the game has moved to more vertical passing and less ground and pound.

McCarthy is Michigan’s first true elite thrower since Drew Henson (remember that name?). Why waste the opportunity?

Because Corum is how Michigan wins it all. Because Corum and his ability to move the pile and get tough yards — and his deceptively quick speed and jump cuts — is how this team was built after a disastrous 2020 season where the program hit a low-point under Harbaugh.

Harbaugh had used transfer quarterbacks, and finally had signed a legit thrower with all the physical tools. They would open up the offense in 2020 with Joe Milton III, and Michigan would move away from Crawl Ball and join the move to throwing it all over the field.

Only it never worked out that way, and a season of COVID delays and cancellations finally and mercifully ended when The Game was canceled for the first time since 1917. And Michigan staring at a 2-4 record.

So Harbaugh, at a crossroads in his tenure at his alma mater, went back to doing what worked best. Back to, from his days at Stanford, winning with character and cruelty.

In other words: We’re running the ball, you try to stop us.

Since then, Corum has rushed for 3,526 yards and 54 TDs. He missed last year’s Playoff semifinal loss to TCU with a knee injury, and Michigan tried to win with McCarthy’s arm.

That resulted in 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns, and an offense that never looked comfortable. This team isn’t built to win shootouts, which is what Washington wants Monday’s championship game to become.

This team is built to win by imposing its will, the cruelty of the defense knowing what’s coming and not being able to stop it. Of seeing a 5-8 (that’s generous), 215-pound bowling ball of a tailback — who squats more than 500 pounds and has arms the size of grown men thighs — coming downhill behind a double tight end formation.

Corum wears on defenses and sets up big plays in the pass game off play-action. It’s old-school football, and there’s nothing complicated about it.

It’s how Michigan changed its fortunes since the end of that 2020 season, when Harbaugh nearly left for the NFL and Michigan wasn’t sure it wanted him back, anyway. The losses to Ohio State were piling up, and the rest of the Big Ten (including rival Michigan State) wasn’t far behind.

Corum came back for this, for another chance to win it all and complete the transformation of Michigan football. He could have left for the NFL after last season, and no one would have blamed him.

There’s only so much tread on the tires, and the average lifespan for a running back in the NFL is less than 4 seasons. Corum stayed and added 251 touches (and counting) to his odometer, and has one game remaining.

There’s no reason to hold back now. Washington is giving up 137 yards per game rushing, and Texas did what it wanted in the run game against the Huskies in the Sugar Bowl Playoff semifinal.

The only thing that prevented Texas from controlling the game on the ground — the Longhorns ran for 180 yards and 3 TDs, and averaged 6.4 yards per carry — was play-calling and 2 critical fumbles from Jayden Blue and CJ Baxter.

The same play-calling that nearly cost Michigan against Alabama — until the Wolverines realized what this season was all about. Run the ball and play great defense.

“We’ve been saying all year, ‘Houston or bust,’” Corum said of the national championship game location. “We’ve got one more game to go.”

It’s not rocket science. When Blake Corum gets the ball, good things happen.

Maybe even a national championship.