The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Can scandal-scarred Michigan win?
Wolverines favored over Crimson Tide, but doubters abound.
Oh, it’s different than a year ago. It’s different because Michigan has been humbled in the playoff two straight times. It’s different because, although the Wolverines are favorites, not many seem to buy it. The opponent comes dressed in underdog clothing, but can’t hide the seven national titles in coach Nick Saban’s pocket.
No. 4 Alabama has the Saban sneer and stare. No. 1 Michigan has its stars and scandal scars. Both teams have fantastic defenses, dynamic quarterbacks and personal and professional motivations.
The Wolverines (13-0) are trying to confirm their authenticity, because in college football, a 38-3 record in three years doesn’t seal it. The Crimson Tide (12-1) is trying to reaffirm its historic greatness, having gone two full years without a national championship, Saban’s longest drought there.
Michigan is a two-point favorite in the playoff semifinal today in the Rose Bowl, a surprisingly unchanged line considering the prevailing narratives. Jim Harbaugh has captured three straight Big Ten titles but hasn’t won a playoff game, and has one bowl victory in nine seasons. The Big Ten is considered SEC Lite, or SEC Heavy, based on long-held stereotypes of brutish Big Ten football versus Southern speed.
The Wolverines were significant underdogs two years ago and lost to Georgia, 34-11. They were significant favorites last year and were stunned by TCU, 51-45. You only get so many chances to learn lessons before it’s time to graduate.
“It’s extremely different,” quarterback J.J. Mccarthy said Friday. “I feel like last year I got caught up in the noise and all the emotions of it, and I’m just trying to stay simple now. I’m trying to focus on dominating meetings, dominating practice and just being around my guys and enjoying every moment because this only comes around once for us.”
Only once more, that is. Mccarthy hasn’t decided whether he’ll return or opt for the NFL, and Michigan has 44 seniors. Combined with the twin NCAA investigations and Harbaugh’s ever-fluid status, the Wolverines carry an urgency that can’t be matched. Unless, of course, they’re facing the game’s master motivator in Saban, with six national titles in 17 seasons at Alabama (and one at LSU).
After the Crimson Tide lost at home to Texas, 34-24, on Sept. 9, they were done, according to all irrational observers. Saban nearly admitted it, benching sophomore quarterback Jalen Milroe. Since then, Milroe has found his confidence and his stride, passing for 23 touchdowns and running for 12 more.
In a way, Milroe sounds like Mccarthy and Michigan a year ago. The Wolverines touted their “smashball” power and relished the heavyweight role. Less than four months removed from supposed lightweight status, Alabama is doing the same.
“Alabama is the standard of college football,” Milroe said. “So if you want to learn what true football is, you look to Alabama.”
Biggest game-changers
Mccarthy and Milroe are the biggest game-changers, because in a battle of dominant defenses, the quarterback that displays more mobility and poise can make the difference. In the Fiesta Bowl loss to TCU, Mccarthy showed both edges of the knife.
He threw two pick-six interceptions, which helped TCU build a 21-3 lead. He also ran and passed superbly to rally the Wolverines, but considered it the most disappointing game of his career. Afterward, he did something even more uncharacteristic — he walked off the interview podium without taking a question.
Mccarthy is as engaging and talkative as any player you’ll encounter, but the moment buckled him. He said he wasn’t caving to frustration but wanted to show he was ready to go right back to work. A year later, he laughed when he admitted a couple of teammates planned to follow him off the podium but relented.
They follow him now more than ever, and will need his running ability more than ever. He ran for minus-14 yards (including 10 sacks) the past five games. He was never specific about various injuries — ankle, knee, arm — but insists he’s now 100% healthy, and emotionally prepared for the next sizable moment.
“I think for the outside, it’s the biggest game in Michigan history, one of the biggest games in college football history,” Mccarthy said. “But to us it’s just another football game that we’re going to go out there and try to execute, play with physicality, and lock into all the little details.”
It’s a locked-in mode the Wolverines have honed during a season of exult and tumult. Questions about the sign-stealing allegations shadow them, but haven’t sidetracked them. Harbaugh’s pair of three-game suspensions galvanized them behind acting head coach Sherrone Moore, who directed a third straight victory over Ohio State.
It’s crazy that former team analyst Connor Stalions generated more national buzz than anything on the field. Every statistical comparison is breathlessly debated, including Mccarthy’s reduced production after Stalions’ ouster. That’s an amusing reach considering UM’S schedule the first eight games was rightly criticized for being weak. When it got more difficult — surprise! — it got harder to score, and the Wolverines leaned more on their running game and defense. Michigan faced its toughest opponents down the stretch and still covered the spread against Penn State, Ohio State and Iowa.
Security concerns
Alabama players joined the uproar this week, purposely or not. Receiver Isaiah Bond said they were told not to take their ipads home to view practice film because of security concerns,.
“Being at the University of Alabama, we’re going to have teams that just do whatever they do to get a little edge,” Bond said. “So stealing signs, it’s not the first time it’s ever happened before. We change our signs almost every game, just knowing the fact that people will go back and watch TV, copy us and steal the signs.”
That explanation doesn’t absolve UM of the allegations, but it does provide context and perspective. It also provides the Wolverines more motivation, when forced to address insinuations their dominance isn’t fully authentic.
“It’s kind of almost comical, like how much stuff has gone on this year in the media,” Michigan center Drake Nugent said. “There’s so much crap out there. It’s kind of funny that we’re constantly on ESPN or in ‘Sportscenter’ or Yahoo Sports or whatever it may be. It’s funny to look at that stuff and still be able to win games while it’s going on. It’s kind of like a big middle finger to everyone, honestly.”
Obviously, the Wolverines would prefer to extend a different finger. It may be comical at times, but it adds to UM’S simmering stimulus stew.
On the technological tit-fortat front, UM players said they stopped using their personal ipads to watch footage back in November.
And Yahoo reported Friday that Catapult, an online video storage company used by many programs, is cooperating with an NCAA investigation into unauthorized access. According to the report, it’s not centered on Michigan, but at least one other school.
All the pregame blather might not affect the outcome today, but it sure can stir up a froth.
Alabama was the playoff pick over unbeaten Florida State but it shouldn’t have been a surprise. It didn’t take long — shortly after Alabama’s 27-24 victory over twotime national champion Georgia — for the Crimson Tide to regain their swagger status.
Outside of the Midwest, perceptions die hard, and Michigan’s postseason reputation is well-documented.
A quick glance at an Alabama-based website uncovered these game predictions from the four staffers: 34-10, 35-17, 31-13 and 33-14, all in favor of the Crimson Tide.
Yet the spread hasn’t budged much, which puts it firmly in coin-flip territory. The monster in underdog clothing is hard to gauge.
“I feel like they’ve just been doing that because it’s Bama, big stereotype,” Michigan linebacker Jaylen Harrell said. “They’ve been here, whatever, eight times or 10 times already. So everyone jumps on Bama.”
Many have spent the season jumping on, jumping off and sometimes jumping all over the Wolverines. Now, in a place they’ve been before, the next big jump is up to them.