Michigan's top leaders put pros aside for one reason - a national title: 'Job's not done'
PASADENA, Calif. − Not even 30 minutes had passed since No. 1 Michigan football put the finishing touches on its historic 27-20 OT Rose Bowl victory over No. 4 Alabama in the college football playoff semifinal.
Still, there the team was, in its locker room deep in the bowels of the Rose Bowl stadium's south wing, when running back Donovan Edwards put on his reporter hat. U-M's vibrant ball carrier joined the scrum in front of Kris Jenkins' stall, held out a fist in the shape of a pretend microphone, and asked the senior captain defensive tackle a question.
"What does it mean to you to win the Rose Bowl," Edwards said with a smile.
"It means everything, man, shoot, I'm not gonna lie though, we got one more," an enthusiastic Jenkins shouted back, before he changed the expression on his face and his voice into a sing-songy rhythm. "Job's. Not. Done! Job's. Not. Finished!"
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Just like that, attention was officially turned to Monday's national championship in Houston, Texas at NRG Stadium.
That's where No. 1 Michigan (14-0, 10-0 Big Ten) will square off with the only other undefeated team in the nation, No. 2 Washington (14-0, 10-0 Pac-12), as it seeks its first national title in 26 years when it earned a split with Nebraska in the 1997 season.
To be clear, this is the game U-M had its sights set on for more than 365 days. Not Ohio State, not a semifinal; those were merely roadblocks to get to this point. See, prior to the 2022 season at Big Ten media days, U-M identified four goals for the year: beat MSU, beat OSU, win the Big Ten, and win the national championship.
It knocked off the first three before it fell short in the CFP semifinal.
Following U-M's crushing 51-45 defeat last New Year's Eve to TCU, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, towel hung around his neck, answered just one question postgame before he promised to get the team back to this point and stormed off the stage.
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Those across the program needed a couple days to lick their wounds and reset their minds before many of the leaders had to decide which dream they would chase: Try to become legends in Ann Arbor and run it back or focus on their future careers and forever be known as great college players who helped changed the narrative, but never achieved the ultimate goal.
In little surprise to those who know the character of so many of the leaders, most opted for the former. Last week, Zak Zinter sat at a table just outside the Rose Bowl Stadium on team media day when he tried to remember who the first domino was to fall.
"I don't really remember, I just know I didn't want to be the first one to go," Zinter joked. "But there's nowhere I'd rather be right now... once you talked to the other guys, it was like 'Let's go back,' I had no doubt in my mind.
"Me, Trevor (Keegan), Blake (Corum), there was a bunch of conversations going back and forth. I think one guy coming back, then another coming back, I think it was just kind of like a snowball effect."
Players like Mike Sainristil and Michael Barrett, an All-American defensive back and All-Big Ten honorable mention linebacker respectively, both opted to return as well; however, no singular announcement for a final season in Ann Arbor resonated more than Corum's.
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The rising senior had just been named a unanimous All-American at running back and suffered a serious knee injury in the penultimate regular season game. Many believed he would pursue the next level, but instead, he announced on Rich Eisen's show he had unfinished business to finish at the corner of Stadium and Main.
A few weeks later, he addressed the mazie and blue faithful firsthand.
"Man it feels good to be back," Corum said on Feb. 8 as he spoke to the crowd during a men's basketball game at Crisler Center, just one month removed from knee surgery. "I don't got much to say. All I got to say is we're going to run it back, we're going to win a national championship and we're going to go down in history.
"That's all I got − go blue!"
Corum and McCarthy were as instrumental as anybody in getting U-M to the national title game. In the semifinal vs. the Tide, Corum scored U-M's first and last touchdowns of the game, finishing with 21 touches for 118 yards and a score through the air and on the ground
McCarthy, meanwhile, completed 17 of 27 passes for 221 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His top receiver? His main man all year, Roman Wilson, caught four passes for 76 yards and the game's tying scoring in the final 94 seconds to force overtime.
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The drive included a 29-yard pass, where Wilson mistimed his leap, but still hung in the air just long enough to make the catch and turn upfield to set up first-and-goal. His plan was to reach with one hand, but "God kept me up there, I reached both hands up, perfect catch. Unbelievable."
Wilson was still processing the moment, but his next response detailed everything about the team. He was asked about fulfilling his journey, winning a Rose Bowl, and doing things U-M had never done in his lifetime.
But even as he tried to talk about what just happened, he still had one eye looking forward.
"It's unreal bro, this is everything I ever dreamed of since I committed to the University of Michigan and since I started playing football," Wilson said. "Coming to a school, wanting to build something that will last forever.
"But this team is so hungry to win this last game."
Next up: Huskies
Matchup: No. 1 Michigan (14-0) vs. No. 2 Washington (14-0), CFP title game.
Kickoff: 8:15 p.m. Jan. 8; NRG Stadium, Houston.
TV/radio: ESPN (and its family of networks); WXYT-FM (97.1) WTKA-AM (1050).
At stake: Michigan is looking for its first national title since winning the AP vote following the 1997 season (Nebraska won the coaches' vote). Washington is looking for its first national title since winning the coaches' vote following the 1991 season (Miami won the AP vote).
SCOUTING REPORT: Michigan will play Washington in the CFP championship game
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Job's not done': No. 1 Michigan football 1 game away from immortality
