LOS ANGELES — The stakes started high for Michigan football this season and have gotten higher not just with each game, but with each story that spills about the program.
It's not just about going to the College Football Playoff for the third year in a row after two straight losses, and it's not just about the playoffs and the Big Ten expanding next year as well, making the road to a championship tougher.
It's not just the fact that many star players, including quarterback JJ McCarthy and running back Blake Collum, are facing NFL decisions after the season.
That's because coach Jim Harbaugh's big contract extension talks with the university have reportedly stalled after the university asked him not to match any offers from the NFL — and according to ESPN's Adam Schefter Harbaugh reportedly hired agent Don Yee to represent him ahead of Monday's game. Rose Bowl vs. Alabama.
Even if Harbaugh were to stay, the program could face any number of sanctions for the cheating scandal that saw the head coach suspended for the final three games of the regular season. Recruiting staffer Connor Stallions spearheads a sign-stealing scheme in the biggest story in sports.
“From the outside looking in, I think this is the biggest game in Michigan history,” McCarthy told reporters this week. “One of the greatest games in college football history.”
This season marks its 1,000th career win, something that was overlooked for a program that prides itself as the blue-blooded leader in sports: Michigan has won just one national title since 1948. That means only.
Not only is this season the best chance to fix that, it looks like the best chance in a while.
Well, Mr. McCarthy might not be wrong.
“It's been a spiritual journey,” Harbaugh said. “It was a mission. It's every day, every week, every month. It's been a year. We've been on this mission with this team for a year.”
To accomplish this goal, they will need to defeat a resurgent Alabama. Alabama sneaked into the playoffs against undefeated Florida State thanks to a win over season-long No. 1 Georgia in the SEC title game.
Easy enough.
It's ironic that the Wolverines are poised to play in college football's version of the Death Star, yet play as the villains.
Things are different on this show, where Stallion's rise to fame was accompanied by a degree of likability.
“It was obviously a challenge, there's no doubt about that,” left guard Trevor Keegan said. “People can make all the claims they want, but even the players who were here, it's the players who changed the program and the coaches as well.”
Since the program's antics came to light, the tone in Ann Arbor has been less one of acceptance of the villains and more of defiance and distrust of what Michigan sees as a witch hunt without due process.
“I found out Coach Harbaugh was suspended for three games, and that was literally when we played Penn State in Happy Valley,” Keegan said. “Really? We weren't able to do this before? It's a bit of a stab in the back, but I think it's a tribute to the leadership of this team.”
When the Wolverines made the playoffs for the first time and lost to Georgia in 2021, they were happy to be there.
There was frustration a year ago when they fumbled what looked like an easy path to the title game against TCU, but there was also recognition that the infrastructure was in place to get to the promised land.
“I feel like last year I was caught up in the noise and all the emotions that come with it,” McCarthy said. McCarthy had two interceptions that made the difference in a 51-45 loss in the Fiesta Bowl a year ago. “[This year] I try to stay simple, dominate the meetings, dominate the practices, and just focus on being with my guys and enjoying every moment. Because this is a one-time thing for us. ”
That may be truer than he realizes.
Maybe Michigan can survive the landmine and be back here on New Year's Day 2025.
Maybe not.
But before that happens, what will happen next year will take a backseat if it's paraded through the streets of Ann Arbor.
“Dreams do come true, goals do come true. Our team was very clear that this was where they wanted to be,” Harbaugh said. “That was one of their goals, that was their goal. That's what we wanted, that's what we worked for, that's exactly where we want to be, and that's where I am now. We are ready to tackle it.”
