Offense notes: Michigan stars shine late in come-from-behind Rose Bowl win over Alabama

PASADENA, Calif. — Michigan Wolverines football had 2 first downs and 41 total yards in the first 25 minutes of the second half. After controlling play before halftime but shooting itself in the foot with mistakes, the Maize and Blue were out-played for much of the third and fourth stanzas. But junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, senior running back Blake Corum, senior wideout Roman Wilson and the offense made plays in winning time.

On the final 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive, McCarthy completed 3 passes for 60 yards and the game-tying score to Wilson, and also dashed 16 yards on a keeper. He and Corum connected on a 4th and 2 pass to keep the Wolverines’ chances alive.

McCarthy acknowledged that Michigan struggled to move the football before the end, but he credited Alabama’s defense. He noted that the Wolverines stayed positive throughout.

“We weren’t really getting things going, but that never bothered us because it is all in the past and we are focusing on staying in the present and controlling the future,” McCarthy said.

In overtime, Corum — in his first College Football Playoff game as Michigan’s featured back — took over with back-to-back runs, the latter going for a 17-yard touchdown to put the pressure on the Crimson Tide offense.

“It’s Blake, man,” Michigan graduate left guard Trevor Keegan said. “I saw his eyes — he had something, there was like a devil in his eyes or something. The demons were coming out.

“He just trusted us, man. We knew that we had to be physical between the tackles and get our run game going, which we got away from in the second half. But we depend on each other, we play for each other and we trusted our coaches. We had a really good plan, and just getting it done here is special.”

“I trust pretty much all of our guys with the ball, but you see what he does,” Michigan graduate left tackle LaDarius Henderson added.

“That’s the type of game we play. We’re finishers. We strain. That’s the Michigan brand of football. A word that we throw around all week is ‘strain, strain, strain, strain,’ and not giving up on anything. So, it was no long faces when we were down. Everybody had a Mamba mentality. Of course, our backfield has ice in their veins, but you need your O-line and your receivers to have ice in their veins too. It was awesome.”

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J.J. McCarthy atones for last year’s Fiesta Bowl

It’s hard to win when throwing 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns, and that’s what McCarthy did in last year’s 51-45 loss to TCU in the College Football Playoff. Like he did the year before, following the Wolverines’ setback to Georgia on the same stage, he stood on the field and watched the victor celebrate. He was envisioning what that feeling of elation would be like if he was in their shoes, and now he is.

“It just means everything,” the Michigan quarterback said. “Just think about how far we’ve come, all the hardships that we went through as a team and as a brotherhood. Just being able to do it on this stage. It’s been 26 years since Michigan won in this building, and the second most appearance out of any college in the entire country playing in this game.”

McCarthy was named Rose Bowl Offensive Player of the Game, having completed 17 of his 27 passes for 221 yards and 3 touchdowns, adding 25 rushing yards.

This year went much differently — something McCarthy made a reality through months and months of work. This time, everyone else was watching him celebrate with a rose in his mouth and smile on his face.

“Just everything about it was just making sure I was the most prepared guy on the field so I could go out there and help my teammates as best I can,” McCarthy said.

Miscellaneous Michigan offense notes

• The Wolverines have won 14 games for the first time in history and are headed to their first-ever national championship game.

• Michigan is now 3-3 all time against Alabama.

• Michigan out-gained Alabama, 351-288. The Crimson Tide had only allowed more than 350 yards three other times this season — against Tennessee (404), Texas (454) and LSU (478).

• U-M surrendered only 1 sack on the evening, and that was its only negative play.

• The Rose Bowl was Michigan’s first overtime game of the year and the program’s first since 2020, when the Wolverines defeated the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 48-42. All-time, U-M has won 14 of its 17 total overtime games. It also marked the first CFP game to go to overtime under the new rules, which force teams to go for two after the first set of scores.

• Michigan is 26-1 in McCarthy’s 27 career starts. His 96.3 winning percentage is the best mark by any starting quarterback in at least the last 20 years. That win rate ranks above those of Trevor Lawrence (34-2; 94.4), Tua Tagovailoa (22-2; 91.7) and others.

• McCarthy (2,851) eclipsed his 2022 season passing total (2,719) and passed both his coach Jim Harbaugh (2,729, 1986) and Chad Henne (2,743, 2004) to advance to sixth all-time for passing yards in a season. He now has the fourth-most passing touchdowns in program history with 49, passing Rick Leach (48) and tying Denard Robinson.

• Corum is up to 150 points on the year, setting the Wolverines’ single-season record.

• Corum has 25 rushing touchdowns this season and 56 for his career — both are program records. He was tied in career scores with Anthony Thomas before the contest (55).