Football in Michigan: Big Ten coach drops a bombshell about J.J. McCarthy as a crucial differentiator against Alabama

A great performance by JJ McCarthy helped Michigan defeat Alabama.

Written by Scotty WhiteAt 6:46 a.m. PST on January 3, 2024three minutes to read

This season, the Michigan football team has faced a lot of skepticism, and going into their Rose Bowl game versus Alabama, that doubt was undoubtedly present. Although many predicted the Wolverines wouldn’t be able to win in the College Football Playoff, Michigan pulled off one of the biggest wins in the school’s history. In a thrilling overtime match, the Wolverines prevailed, and quarterback JJ McCarthy played a significant role in their victory.

Several Big Ten coaches were among the many who had doubts about the Michigan football team going into this game. Before the Rose Bowl, The Athletic published a piece in which they spoke with a number of Big Ten coaches about the Wolverines and their chances of winning the playoff matchup with Alabama. Though their identities were kept secret, the coaches weren’t overly optimistic about Michigan.

After the Rose Bowl win, The Athletic released another article, and these anonymous Big Ten coaches had much better things to say about Michigan this time around. JJ McCarthy had maybe more doubters than anyone, but this Big Ten coach was impressed with his performance on Monday.

“J.J. hadn’t played that well in a long tim

“I knew (Milroe) was gonna have to play well, but Michigan did a great job against them,” A Big Ten head coach who thought Alabama would win said. “Michigan proved that they have the physicality to match them and really handled them. It was impressive. Their defense is really, really good. They proved a lot going blow-for-blow with Alabama, and then, they finished them off.”

e, but he played really well (Monday),” The anonymous coach said. “And you saw that in both Playoff games. The team with the quarterback who played the best, they won. It’s the same as what you’re seeing in the NFL. And that’s because these teams are so sound, it’s coming down to the quarterbacks. Special teams just can’t get you beat, and for Michigan (in the Rose Bowl), it almost did. But they were able to keep it in their quarterback’s hands, and (McCarthy) really stepped up when he had to.”

McCarthy certainly had a better game than Alabama football QB Jalen Milroe. Milroe had a couple nice runs in the game, but he was a complete non-factor in the passing game, and Michigan did a terrific job getting pressure on him all game long. The performance from that defense was masterful.

Michigan ended up winning the game in overtime, but it really shouldn’t have been that close. The Wolverines made a lot of special teams mistakes in the game that gave Alabama a lot of life, and it really could’ve been a comfortable win for Michigan if they played a cleaner game.

“Michigan gave them 7 (points) on a fumbled punt and 4 points on its kicking unit and still won,” One coach said. “Bama’s defense was poor, in my opinion, on things that Michigan does every game — condensed formations get the running back the ball through rubs and picks.”

What a victory for the football squad from Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines are currently on their way to Houston to play Washington football in the national championship game. That one is scheduled for Monday night at 7:30 ET at NRG Stadium, and ESPN will broadcast the game. Right now, Michigan has a 4.5-point advantage over the Huskies. If JJ McCarthy’s side is to complete the sweep and claim the national championship, they will require one more outstanding performance.