Jim Harbaugh shares when he knew Michigan could make CFP run

Jim Harbaugh knew Michigan could make another run at the College Football Playoff and now the Wolverines are one win away from the top prize.

The last two years were rough endings to Georgia and TCU. But Michigan got over the proverbial hump with a win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

Harbaugh broke down how he could tell this team could make a run and potentially run the table.

“I thought it was possible right then and there, when we walked off that field, right when J.J. said, we would be back, I thought it was possible,” Harbaugh said. “And then to watch the repetition every day of what our guys were doing, how they went right back to work. As I said, what you do speaks so loudly that we can’t even hear what you’re saying. What our guys do on a daily, weekly, monthly basis speaks so loudly.”

JJ McCarthy had his best season and one of the big reasons why Michigan’s been steady on offense and as a team. With one game to go, he can add to that impressive stat line.

In 14 games this year, McCarthy has 2,851 yards, 22 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 73.2% completion percentage.

Jim Harbaugh reveals advice from Kirby Smart

This is unprecedented territory for Michigan and Harbaugh. They’ve never gotten past the semifinals in the CFP and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart actually gave Harbaugh some advice.

Smart’s message to Harbaugh was simple.

“Get rest, first, getting back from the West coast,” Harbaugh said. “That was quite a trip. I talked to Kirby Smart. That was one of the pieces of advice that he gave me was that it’s going to be a short turnaround and a lot of travel time and make sure you get the guys plenty of rest. So we’ve done our best to do that.”

The Wolverines must balance working hard to get ready for the game with also making sure they are ready to go physically.

“Also putting in the game plan and getting prepared, getting practiced, putting the finishing touches on it now and getting ready for Monday night,” Harbaugh said. “But yea, just super excited, super thrilled to be here.”

Harbaugh led Michigan to the College Football Playoff each of the past two seasons. Now, he has the Wolverines in the national championship game for the first time. For Harbaugh, this is a dream come true.

“These things, you watch every year. I do, anyway, whether it’s the football, the basketball, the water polo national championship, baseball and think, ‘Boy, that’d be great to be there.’ And here we are,” Harbaugh said. “It’s been a full year of dreaming about it, working, hoping and here we are. So just a feeling of honor. Let’s have at it.”