McCarthy Back in a Familiar Place, Gearing Up for National Semi-Final with Alabama in Rose Bowl

Last year's CFP loss to TCU in the Fiesta Bowl ate at the Wolverine quarterback, who responded with growth and was named the Big Ten's Quarterback of the Year

Photos by Derek Kornacki

Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy signs an autograph and talks with a young fan after a game this season.

McCarthy fires a pass toward the sideline against Rutgers with Trevor Keegan (No. 77), Drake Nugent and Zak Zinter (No. 65) creating his pocket.

By Steve Kornacki

LOS ANGELES – Jonathan James McCarthy – known to all as J.J. -- has started 26 football games for the Wolverines, and has lost only one of them.

You all know the one.

It was the 51-45 defeat to TCU in Fiesta Bowl national semi-final game last season, and I had a unique view to his despair by ending up alone behind the door to the post-game press conference with McCarthy, tailback Donovan Edwards, defensive back Mikey Sainristil and a Michigan staff member.

McCarthy couldn’t summon that great, captivating smile of his. And his somber tones were something I’d never witnessed before. J.J. seems to always have a glow about him. But that night in Glendale, Ariz., he sat in a folding chair, and a look of overwhelming disbelief crossed his face.

Once inside the press conference, McCarthy fielded the first press conference question about how TCU played, and said: “All credit to them. They won the game in the 60 minutes that were played. They're a good football team. No matter what it is, they got the win. Fought our hearts out. There's a lot of things that we could have done better. Can't wait to watch the tape. But we'll be back, and I promise that.”

And with that, he got up and walked back to the locker room, alone, leaving Edwards and Sainristil to answer the rest of the questions.

Losing for the first time as a Michigan starter was tough to take, and those two pick-six interceptions had to be eating at him. Despite McCarthy throwing for a career-high 343 yards and two touchdowns, the Wolverines could not off-set what TCU and Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback Max Duggan put up on the scoreboard.

Still, McCarthy is 25-1 as a starter, and his .962 winning percentage is the highest by a quarterback in the last 20 years. Trevor Lawrence is next with his 34-2 (.944) mark at Clemson, 2018-2020.

J.J. and No. 1 Michigan (13-0) get another shot at winning it all beginning with Monday’s Rose Bowl national semi-final game with No. 4 Alabama (12-1). He did get them back to college football’s final four -- as promised at that press conference one year ago.

McCarthy has thrown for 2,630 yards with 19 touchdowns and four interceptions. His completion percentage of .742 is second in the country behind Oregon’s Bo Nix, and his passing efficiency rating of 170.25 ranks seventh nationally.

“His playing has grown through the roof,” said Colston Loveland, a first team All-Big Ten tight end and close friend of McCarthy’s. “He’s doing a great job on and off the field, in the meeting rooms – just really taking accountability and being the guy. He’s done a damn good job.”

McCarthy said something earlier this season, when he was the leading Heisman Trophy candidate for a week or two, that stuck with me:

"I could care less about [leading for the Heisman]. I don't really care about trophies; I care about championships. And that’s the same thing that this entire team cares about. So, it's a tremendous honor. But we're going to still focus on our goals and getting better every single day."

There are athletes who say things like that, but don’t fully mean it.

McCarthy means it.

So, I asked him about the root of his dedication to putting team over self. Keep in mind that this is a difficult concept for some five-star recruits – which McCarthy was at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

McCarthy heard the question and craned his neck around a couple other reporters to make eye contact while providing his answer:

“I would just say it’s all the great teams I’ve been around and all the great coaches that have coached me. It’s just always about the team, the team, the team.”

That has been a mantra at Michigan dating back to legendary coach Bo Schembechler, and McCarthy experienced it at a young age.

“Whether it was in youth football with my dad coaching me,” he said of Jim McCarthy. “Or at Nazareth Academy [in La Grange, Ill.] with Coach Tim Racki. It’s all about the team and working toward one big goal and one mission. You know, it’s not about all the accolades, like you said, that you get personally. It’s about getting that ring on your finger at the end of the year because that’s something we all can celebrate.”

The Wolverines are in the same position as one year ago – only this time as the No. 1 seed in the 5 p.m. (ET) game rather than the No. 2 seed in the night game – and fully realize that 13 or 14 wins will mean falling short. Going 15-0 is all that matters to a group that has won three consecutive Big Ten championships but nary a game in the College Football Playoff.

McCarthy said: “The goals we set out for ourselves, this team, it’s one of those things where if we don’t win out the ones at the top of the mountain at the end, then we won’t think it’s a successful season.

“At the end of the day, it’s hard to win 13 games, and we’ll appreciate it one day if that happens.”

McCarthy was asked if the Wolverines might have been fatigued going into previous semi-final games?

“A little bit, yeah,” he said. “And there is paralysis by over-analysis. So, I think what Coach [Jim] Harbaugh is doing is going to help that. It was mostly mental.”

Harbaugh also opted to scale back some of the hard-hitting in practices to prepare for the Crimson Tide.

The coach and his quarterback have a father-son type of relationship and are quite close. James Joseph Harbaugh, who could’ve been a J.J. but always went by Jim or Jimmy growing up, will slap McCarthy hard on his shoulder pads before games and get him fired up.

The six games Harbaugh was suspended for were tough on McCarthy, a junior who was so happy to have Harbaugh back for the Big Ten Championship Game win over Iowa.

“It feels great, yeah,” McCarthy said of him returning. “Missed that guy for those six games. But it’s great to have him back.”

This game could very well come down to whether Alabama sophomore redshirt quarterback Jalen Milroe or McCarthy has the better game. Both are strong leaders, have powerful arms, are fleet of foot, and give defensive coordinators fits.

Milroe has completed 171-of-261 passes (.655) for 2,718 yards and 23 touchdowns with six interceptions. He’s run 140 times for 468 yards (3.3 per carry) and 12 touchdowns.

McCarthy has completed 213-of-287 passes (.680) for 2,630 yards and 19 touchdowns with four interceptions. He’s run 57 times for 146 yards (2.6 average) and three touchdowns.

But consider this: McCarthy has been fully healthy for only a portion of the Big Ten season. He noted an ankle injury after playing at Minnesota in the third conference game, and suffered a leg injury in the Penn State game in early November.

That explosiveness has been lacking, but even at less than his best, McCarthy makes plays.

“But he’s 100-percent now,” said Wolverine tailback Blake Corum, when asked for his observations of his quarterback in recent practices.

McCarthy said having a month between games has been a big help, and it’s exciting to ponder what he might be capable of at the Rose Bowl.

He was asked for specifics on his physical condition during the season.

"All I could say is I just wasn't at 100-percent," McCarthy said. "Yeah, that's about it. Yeah."

He did not want to dwell on that question.

Awards came his way any way. He was voted the Bob Griese-Drew Brees Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, first team All-Big Ten by coaches and media, and the Bo Schembechler MVP Award by his teammates.

Wolverine offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore said of McCarthy getting that nod: “Like J.J. said, it could’ve been anybody. It just shows what his teammates think about him and the kind of kid he is, the type of leader he is. And it’s always great when your quarterback is the MVP. So, I’m excited about that. For him, he said he doesn’t really care about the trophies. But those awards are all about the championships, and that’s what we’re chasing.”

Corum was last year’s MVP, and it’s rare to have two team MVPs in the same backfield of a huge bowl game. But that will be the case in Pasadena. I asked McCarthy about that.

“Yeah, I mean it’s nuts,” he said. “It speaks to everything that we work for as Michigan men. At the end of the night, another 10 or 15 guys could’ve won that award. It’s pretty cool to have that, but the main thing is getting the ‘W.’ “

Watch Corum and McCarthy communicate after they break the huddle and are lining up for the snap. They are completely in tune with one another, and share a self-assured vibe.

“Yeah, that’s it, 100 percent,” said McCarty, a big smile crossing his face. “It’s a different kind of telepathic connection that we have for one another.”

Experience is another advantage the Wolverines hope to benefit from against the Crimson Tide, who have a first-year starter at quarterback.

Michigan has been here before.

McCarthy knows the disappointment, and now hopes to reap the joy.