Michigan LB Michael Barrett: Viral CFP video was about shock, not fear of playing Alabama
As top-ranked, undefeated Michigan continues its preparations to face off against No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl, the team has had to contend with the notion it's afraid of facing Nick Saban's Crimson Tide.
One of the primary reasons for that is a viral video that emerged during the College Football Playoff selection show on Sunday, Dec. 3. The video showed the Wolverines' football team audibly shocked when its CFP semifinal opponent was revealed.
The team many expected to make the playoff, undefeated ACC champion Florida State, had been left out of the playoff. In its stead was one-loss SEC champion Alabama, which jumped four spots and leapfrogged the Seminoles to make the final four teams.
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But Michigan linebacker Michael Barrett set the record straight on Thursday while speaking during Rose Bowl media availability. The viral response, Barrett said, wasn't because the team was afraid to play Alabama; it was because the team was shocked that an undefeated Power Five champion had been left out.
"It's funny that I keep hearing everybody say we're scared because we got 'Bama. It was more like the shock of not seeing an undefeated Power 5 team get picked," Barrett said (via Brett McMurphy). "We kind of figured that all the undefeated teams were going to come and we were just debating on who would slip into that fourth spot.
"So not seeing Florida State in there, it was kind of a shock to everybody. It wasn't really like fear, never that, of any team. It was just more that shock. We kind of just were already expecting, 'OK, if they got (Texas) at (No. 3), then they've got to be Florida State at (No. 4).'"
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Michigan's players weren't the only ones shocked at FSU's absence from the final iteration of the four-team playoff. The Seminoles' snub was met with much the same same reaction throughout the college football world and beyond. They are the first undefeated Power Five champion to miss the playoff, and likely will be the only team to hold that distinction moving forward.
In their place is Alabama, which overcame a Week 2 loss to No. 3 Texas to go on an 11-game win streak, capped with a win vs. then-top-ranked Georgia in the SEC championship game. And so, the Wolverines will seek their first CFP victory not over Florida State, but the Crimson Tide.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan LB Michael Barrett: Team wasn't scared of Alabama in CFP video
