2023-12-22 21:17:05
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In five days, the scene will shift to Southern California. For now, Michigan is practicing in the familiar confines of Al Glick Field House, doing everything possible to get ready for Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Sometimes less is more, as the Wolverines learned from their last two trips to the College Football Playoff. Here are eight thoughts as Michigan wraps up the on-campus portion of its bowl preparation.
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1. Linebacker Junior Colson spoke to reporters with his left hand tucked into his coat pocket, but his bulky cast was hard to conceal. If you imagine trying to tackle a 225-pound running back while wearing a pair of oven mitts, you can understand what Colson was dealing with late in the season.
When asked how he was feeling compared to this time last year, Colson didn’t hesitate.
“I feel great,” Colson said. “You’re always going to be banged up a little bit. That’s football. You’re never 100 percent unless it’s summertime. I feel great. I feel like our whole defense, our whole team feels great right now heading into this game.”
Colson expects to have the casts on his hands for the Rose Bowl but doesn’t see it as a major hindrance. Overall, he said he feels better than he did heading into last year’s Fiesta Bowl, when he and other players on Michigan’s defense were hanging on by a thread.
Coach Jim Harbaugh has taken steps to keep the team fresher late in the season, and that continued with a lighter schedule leading up to the team’s departure. Instead of grinding through physical practices every day, Michigan had shorter bursts of intensity interspersed with walk-throughs and recovery days.
“Coach Harbaugh changed it a little bit,” running back Blake Corum said. “We practice really hard, and we’ll have a walk-through. Still full speed, just not hitting. Execution is still top-notch, still precise. Every detail matters. Our bodies are feeling really good.”
2. Two of the most important players in this game, J.J. McCarthy and Will Johnson, battled injuries late in the season. Michigan needs both as close to 100 percent as possible, and things appear to be trending in the right direction.
Johnson has played at a high level this year despite nagging injuries. He hurt his leg in practice before the Ohio State game but came up with a crucial interception before the injury flared up in the second half. After missing the Big Ten Championship Game, Johnson has come back strong after a two-week break, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.
“I think he’s as close and as ready as he can be,” Minter said. “I’m super excited to see him go out there and cover those guys. Him being at his best obviously makes us a better defense.”
3. McCarthy didn’t go into detail about the leg injury that hampered him late in the season, but it played a part in his diminished production.
“All I can say is I just wasn’t at 100 percent,” he said.
Though he wasn’t at his best, the scrutiny around McCarthy’s late-season numbers was also a bit overblown. There’s a direct correlation between McCarthy throwing one touchdown pass in his final five games and Corum scoring 11 on the ground. Michigan wanted to be more balanced this year — and was, for the most part — but a pretty box score isn’t the goal, especially against teams like Penn State and Ohio State. It’s all about getting the ball in the end zone by whatever means necessary.
McCarthy had a rough game against Maryland, and Iowa did a nice job taking away explosive plays in the Big Ten Championship Game, in part because Michigan struggled in pass protection. Otherwise, the dip in McCarthy’s production was mostly a function of play calling.
In the Big Ten Championship Game, J.J. McCarthy completed 73.3 percent of his pass attempts and was sacked four times. (Trevor Ruszkowski / USA Today)
4. Scouts and general managers will have their eyes on McCarthy in the Rose Bowl, looking for signs that he’s ready to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL. It’s not a stretch to say his performance in the CFP could impact his draft stock and decision to stay or go.
“I’m approaching it just like I did Week 1,” McCarthy said. “Every single time you put yourself out there, it’s an opportunity to showcase (yourself) to scouts and NFL teams.”
McCarthy insisted he has made no decisions about his future. He said the same thing when Harbaugh broached the subject the week before bowl practices.
“He actually brought it up and asked if I wanted to talk about it in the week off,” McCarthy said. “I told him I’m only focused on Bama.”
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5. Michigan is the No. 1 seed. Alabama is the team that underachieved early in the season and barely made the CFP. Yet when people talk about this matchup, Corum said, it’s almost as if the roles are reversed.
“As soon as they announced we’d be playing Alabama, I felt like they flipped it from the jump,” Corum said. “It was fine. It’s all people’s opinions and what they think.”
Fans have grumbled about a lack of respect, but players and coaches understand why Alabama gets the benefit of the doubt. Minter referred to the CFP as the “Alabama Invitational,” noting that the Crimson Tide are making their eighth appearance in 10 years. As The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel pointed out, SEC teams are 14-3 in the CFP against teams from other leagues. There’s no anti-Michigan conspiracy here, just an acknowledgment that the Wolverines have the burden of proof.
“We haven’t won it,” offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore said. “They have. We haven’t. We’ve got to prepare our tails off to get to that point.”
6. For Michigan’s defense, everything starts with containing quarterback Jalen Milroe.
“I don’t think we’ve seen a quarterback like this,” Minter said.
Players and coaches cited Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa as the closest comparison, but the similarities only go so far. Milroe is more dangerous as a runner and averages 10.4 yards per pass attempt, which is second in the FBS. Michigan defenders realize they have to stay disciplined, but they’re not going to sit back on their heels. They plan to attack Milroe rather than let him dictate the game.
“A lot of guys just stand there and wait for him to run,” linebacker Michael Barrett said. “That gets you beat, trying to guess where he’s going to go, guess what he’s going to do. It puts you a step behind already. It’s really about being in attack mode instead of being on the defensive.”
7. Now in his sixth year of eligibility, Barrett often feels like the old man in the room. He had another one of those senior moments when Harbaugh reminded him he was one of the few players on the team who saw the field against Alabama in the Citrus Bowl four years ago.
“Coach Harbaugh brought that up in a team meeting and looked at me like, ‘You were there, right?’” Barrett said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah.’ Everybody busted out laughing.”
Michigan led 16-14 at halftime but lost 35-16. Both programs have changed since then, Michigan in particular. The Wolverines have a new defensive scheme, a stronger identity on offense and the confidence that comes with three consecutive Big Ten championships. Alabama is still uber-talented, but the team Michigan faced four years ago was a monster.
“They have a lot of similarities, but I feel like it’s a different team,” Barrett said. “They had DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Najee Harris. It’s hard to bring those players back or have that ability in another year. They were stacked that year.”
8. Colson recalled getting a message from Barrett with some surprising news: George Helow, their former position coach, had been hired by Alabama to assist the Crimson Tide with bowl prep.
“He’s got a job,” Colson said. “I’m happy for him. I’ll probably go say what’s up to him after the game.”
Helow didn’t land with another program after leaving Michigan’s staff to make room for Chris Partridge, who was fired in November. Alabama presumably hired Helow because of his familiarity with Michigan’s defense, but Colson doubted it would create much of an advantage.
“You can’t really have an advantage in football,” Colson said. “It doesn’t matter if you know somebody’s whole playbook. You’ve still got to stop it.”
(Top photo of Ja’Den McBurrows, center, and DJ Waller Jr., left, celebrating after a turnover in the Big Ten Championship Game: Robert Goddin / USA Today)
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