Cherishing post-Rose Bowl scene, Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy thought back to some long days
Confetti and rose pedals littered the field at the Rose Bowl Monday evening, well after Michigan beat Alabama, 27-20 in an instant classic overtime game — the calm after the storm.
An hour after the clock hit zero, junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who led a game-tying touchdown drive that helped send the game into overtime, interviewed with Big Ten Network on the south side of the field. Afterward slowly walked around, scanning the scene, and crouched down to take it all in.
McCarthy was one of the last Wolverines to leave the field following CFP semifinal games the prior two seasons, losses to Georgia and TCU. He wanted to get a glimpse at what it would look like to be on stage celebrating. This year, others were watching him, and later he took a moment to reflect.
“Those moments, I cherish every single one of them, win or loss, just because you work so hard every single day throughout the offseason, during the season to get to points like that,” the Michigan signal-caller said Wednesday. “Just taking it in, win or loss, is just always something that I really just appreciate.”
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While in that moment, McCarthy said he thought back to all of the work it took to get back to this point. He promised the Wolverines would strain to reach the CFP for a third straight season. The implication was that the result would be different this time, and he made that a reality with some late-game heroics and 3 touchdown passes, for which he was named the Rose Bowl Offensive Player of the Game.
“All the extra work and all the different things that I did this past offseason and this season just like reflecting back on those and how hard I pushed myself and like training seven to eight times a week and going to the separate trainer where we would do like these conditioning days and I’m throwing up like 75 percent of the time down there,” McCarthy said of what was going through his mind.
“Just all the extra things that I did, just kind of taking that all in on the field and just realizing, hey, it was worth every single second of pain that I went through, and I would do it all over again if I had the choice.”
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Former Michigan quarterback Tom Brady once said, “To me, what separates really good players from great players: execute well under pressure.”
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl champion, did that time and time again throughout his college and professional football career. McCarthy doesn’t have that kind of résumé, of course, but he’s building one of his own, highlighted by his performance in the Rose Bowl and wins over Ohio State the last two seasons.
“I just kind of feel like those pressure situations are what make teams great,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy has had the opportunity to connect with Brady while a Wolverine.
“I haven’t really gotten a chance to break down film with him, but he’s just given me a lot of advice on how to watch film throughout the week and what he did and especially in big games, just little advice like that,” McCarthy said when asked if he’s broken down tape with Brady. “Just how to handle yourself emotionally and a bunch of other advice about health and well-being and all the tremendous things he’s done with his life in that area.
“A lot of stuff like that, but I can’t wait to maybe get the opportunity one day to maybe break down film with him.”
Right now, the focus is on the task at hand, a matchup with Washington in the national championship game, with Michigan seeking its 12th-ever national title.
