A big shout out to Nick Durand of Maize N’ Brew for taking the time out of the Christmas holidays to answer my prying questions about the Wolverines (including the annoying ones about sign-stealing and Jim Harbaugh).
1) I’m going to rip the band-aid off and ask this question early. As an actual Michigan fan, what are your opinions on the whole sign-stealing situation? From an outside perspective, we’ve all gotten a good laugh out of Connor Stallions becoming a meme and the soap opera drama of it, but mostly don’t believe it amounts to much of anything. This is fairly open-ended, so just answer however you want to talk about it.
Glad we’re getting this one out of the way early. In my opinion I don’t think too much of the sign-stealing situation anymore since it’s kind of run its course in the national media. I was never really of the mindset that it could’ve been something that provided a big competitive advantage. After all, this is college football and 99.9% of teams are doing something to try and gain a competitive advantage. It’s certainly possible that something nefarious was going on, but I don’t think it’s anything more egregious than what any other teams could’ve been doing. Additionally, Michigan was still able to win when they were under the microscope for sign-stealing, indicating that it might not have been making a huge difference.
Jim Harbaugh has had Michigan back at the top of the Big 10 ever since 2021. That said, the last two years have been bookended with pretty disappointing playoff exits. Is this something you think is a concerning trend, or something that’s more of just a small sample size with variance going against the Wolverines?
I think for right now it could be chalked up to small sample size, but I also think it’s important to note that the context surrounding both of Michigan’s playoff games was vastly different. In 2021, there seemed to be a consensus that Michigan fans were just happy to be there. It wasn’t necessarily a huge surprise that Georgia won that game in the fashion that it did either, so I don’t really think it’s fair to indict Harbaugh or Michigan based on that performance. 2022 though is a different story, as Michigan should’ve beaten TCU with ease and came out flat, ultimately leading to a loss. This year’s game though could give us a verdict on how Michigan performs in the playoff. While losing this game wouldn’t be a surprise (Alabama is a very good team after all), it’ll be important to assess Michigan’s performance as a whole and see if they’re able to compete for 60 minutes.
3) Let’s talk a little offense. JJ McCarthy has one of the best (the best?) completion percentages in the nation, but his overall yards, YPA, and TDs are fairly low. For the most part, I assume that Michigan has been mostly winning by the rushing game. If things get tense, can McCarthy and his crew of pass catchers take over and win the game?
McCarthy’s improvement has been fun to watch this year for sure. He is one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation, and despite his YPA and touchdowns being down, I think that’s more of a product of Michigan not asking him to make a lot of big-time throws. He has all the arm talent in the world and the ability to make any throw on the field, Michigan just prefers to use a more methodical approach to move down the field. I think he has the ability to take over a game with his arm (and his legs) if need be, but I’m not so sure about his supporting cast. Roman Wilson has been good this year, but he hasn’t faced the likes of Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry yet. Look for someone like tight end Colston Loveland or gadget receiver Semaj Morgan to make some plays though on offense.
4) If you didn’t address this above, can you take a minute to talk about your main pass catchers and what threats they pose to Alabama? None are national household names yet, so our readers could definitely use a quick synopsis.
Roman Wilson is the best pass catcher Michigan has and showed his chemistry with J.J. McCarthy early in the season. Wilson wins with his speed and has been good at picking up yards after the catch this season. He’s a little undersized for a WR1 (6 foot, 192 pounds) and hasn’t faced elite defensive back play this year, but if there’s a receiver that’s gonna take over the Rose Bowl for Michigan, it’s Wilson. Colston Loveland is Michigan’s second leading receiver at tight end. He’s a sophomore and someone that got plenty of hype in the offseason after a big finish to his freshman year. He came out of the gates a little slow in 2023 but has been emerging more and more down the stretch. He’s a big threat over the middle for Michigan and has plenty of athleticism at his size. Other names Alabama should look out for will be receivers Cornelius Johnson, Tyler Morris, and Semaj Morgan, as well as tight end A.J. Barner.
