Explaining why 2023 Michigan is perfectly built to handle 'Beat Georgia' messaging

During the offseason, the Michigan Wolverines garnered some headlines for one of their more recent practice routines. Michigan reportedly named one of their practice periods the ‘Beat Georgia’ period. And some, both within and outside the fan base, are a bit miffed by that decision.

So, On3’s very own J.D. PicKell took some time to address the name, the meaning behind the message, and why the Wolverines can handle what it all boils down to.

“There’s gonna be some people that see this and say, well, that’s a little bit presumptuous of Michigan and Jim Harbaugh,” said PicKell. “It’s a little bit weird, right? Just assuming they’re going to end up in the national title game. They’re already looking past the rest of their schedule and looking at Georgia. Sounds like they’re kind of overlooking everything else; sounds like they’re not taking it one day at a time.

“I would say that the maturity that this football team has it’s going to allow them to handle a vision. Maturity, as a whole, allows you to see the big picture, and Michigan is top five in the country when it comes to returning production. So a lot of talent’s back. To take it a step further, I think a lot of leadership is back at Michigan. JJ McCarthy, obviously, is back, Michael Barrett, he’s back, Blake Corum, he’s back; a lot of the leaders in this locker room are still around. And when you have leadership and maturity, you’re able to see what the end goal is.”

Michigan is bringing back a substantial amount of talent from their 2022 team that came up just short in the College Football Playoff against TCU. Star quarterback JJ McCarthy and Heisman candidate running back Blake Corum have returned to finish the job this season and in the year as 2023 national champions.

Still, it’s going to take more than talent in order for Michigan to get the job done this time around. That is why PicKell made it a point to highlight the maturity and leadership they have as a veteran team in college football. So for him, the Wolverines aren’t looking past anybody. They’re using Georgia as a measuring stick to set the tone on how they will approach everybody this year.

“It doesn’t mean that you’re looking past your schedule. It doesn’t mean that you’re looking all the way to Georgia. It means that, actually, you have the maturity to understand the importance of each and every moment leading up to that. So beating Georgia isn’t just about beating Georgia. Like, that’s the focus for this practice period, of course. But the understanding is, if we want to get a chance to beat Georgia at Michigan, we want a chance to play for all the marbles in a national title game. We got to take the ‘Beat Georgia’ period seriously so we can beat Ohio State, so we can beat Michigan State, so we can beat whoever else is in our path. That’s what maturity allows you to see.”

While fans of other programs still may not agree with the college football expert’s take on this, Michigan fans themselves should actually feel comfortable with the program naming the period “Beat Georgia.” According to PicKell, the Wolverines did something similar with another foe in 2021 and haven’t lost to them yet.

“It’s not looking past the schedule. It’s actually looking more closely at your schedule, looking more closely at the one thing in front of you to get to that game against Georgia. Because that’s the ultimate goal for Michigan… For what it’s worth, Michigan also had a ‘Beat Ohio State’ period in 2021; they’re 2-0 since making that drill a reality,” said PicKell.