Michigan football emphasizes rest as it arrives for College Football Playoff title game
HOUSTON — Michigan football's plane touched down at George Bush Intercontinental Airport shortly before sunset on Friday evening, marking the Wolverines' the final road trip of the season.
However, coach Jim Harbaugh barely remembers the trip.
“I think I fell asleep before we even took off,” Harbaugh told reporters on the tarmac shortly before the team loaded onto buses and headed to its downtown hotel. “Second big flight in a week, all the way from the West Coast to Michigan, then into our preparations and practice and another big flight here.”
Perhaps he was just setting the tone, as the coach of the No. 1 Wolverines (14-0) said the team has emphasized rest ahead of Monday's College Football Playoff championship game matchup with No. 2 Washington (14-0) at NRG Stadium.
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Harbaugh said the team got back to business “very quickly” after Mondays CFP semifinal win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Although the travel has made the week feel shorter, it’s actually a normal seven-day turnaround from the Rose Bowl to the national title, with the only difference being the day of the games — Monday, instead of Saturday.
The team practiced Friday morning — which they treated like a Wednesday — before they left Ann Arbor, but Harbaugh said the Wolverines weren't done. The plan was to have an extra walkthrough Friday as well as some meetings as Harbaugh’s group continues preparations.
"Still a few things to clean up," he said.
Monday will be just the fourth time the two top seeds in the CFP era have met in the final; the first three were all won by the 2-seed, which is just one reason, Harbaugh said, that his team must avoid getting a big head.
“Really want to congratulate Washington on the tremendous season they've had, you know, they've taken on all comers and come out on top every single week, Harbaugh said. “To be the best, you’ve gotta beat the best — that’s our mindset and we’re ready to have at it."
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A victory for U-M would be the pinnacle of a three-year era of success marked by its failures in the CFP. Michigan finally defeated Ohio State in 2021, then beat Iowa in the Big Ten title game to claim the program's first league championship in 17 years before being clearly overmatched by Georgia in 2021.
Last season, the Wolverines returned to the CFP, only to play their sloppiest game of the year and come up short against TCU. Michigan has believed since the offseason that this is the group; fifth and sixth-year seniors such as Michael Barrett, Trevor Keegan, Mike Sainristil and Zak Zinter all have said they want to demonstrate the truth of the program's mantra: "Those who stay will be champions."
But Harbaugh was focused Friday on one single game ... and maybe a bit of pop culture.
The head coach referenced Drake's "Big Rings" by Drake — which he called "that song the young people like" — as he described how U-M is finally just one victory away from its own big ring.
"One more game to go," he said. "Our guys are very focused on making it all the way."
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football emphasizing rest as it arrives for CFP title game
