J.J. McCarthy, Mason Graham discuss how Michigan returner Jake Thaw handled muffed punt vs. Alabama

With just less than a minute remaining on the game clock, all that stood between Michigan and a chance to drive down for a go-ahead score in the Rose Bowl was fielding a punt cleanly. Given that freshman Semaj Morgan had muffed a punt earlier, the Wolverines ran out the surer-handed Jake Thaw.

Backing up inside his own 10 yard line, Thaw stuck out his hands and saw the ball go through his hands just inside the 5. With Alabama gunners bearing down, Thaw salvaged his mistake in what turned out to be a season-saving moment, deftly scooping the live ball off the turf at the 1 before getting plastered by a number of Crimson Tide players.

Instead of a chance to drive and win, Michigan had to run a few nip-and-tuck plays to avoid a safety. But reflecting on the moment now, quarterback J.J. McCarthy isn’t viewing that moment as some ultimate critical mistake.

“Yeah, I just kind of feel like those pressure situations are what make teams great. I feel like we slipped up in that moment but we were able to regain it. Obviously he got down at the 1 so we were able to have a chance to keep on playing. Just letting us line up again. He did his job, and he got us back,” McCarthy said on a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

While Michigan didn’t get a chance to score on that series late in regulation, Thaw did at least get the Wolverines to overtime, a possibility that had seemed faint with around five minutes to play in regulation. Given how the game was turning, getting into overtime turned out to be enough.

Defensive lineman Mason Graham shared that Thaw’s lack of panic in the moment likely saved the Wolverines, and he’s not going to overlook it.

“The way he handled it and not freaking out once the ball was going towards the end zone and accidentally kicking it or muffing it again and making sure he didn’t fumble it when he got hit by those three guys. There’s a lot of good that he did in that scary situation that I feel like needs to be appreciated, and that’s just a testament to our training and the mindset that we’ve forged over the last year,” Graham said.

And while Thaw did make the initial mistake, Graham gave him all the credit for flipping from disaster to staving it off, even if he was cleaning up his own mess.

“I think it was tremendous the way he handled the situation. He didn’t freak out. Their punter was outstanding. Some of the kicks he had were just like something I haven’t seen before,” Graham said.