JJ McCarthy reacts to question about how he'd handle NCAA vacating wins this season

Michigan is just one win away from winning a national championship. A historic win against Alabama can be topped by taking down Washington in Houston on Monday, winning the program’s first title since 1997. It’s been a roller coaster of a ride for the program recently and theoretically, everything could be taken away in the future.

With the ongoing sign-stealing scandal, there is speculation that the NCAA could vacate Michigan’s win and take away the national championship. JJ McCarthy was asked how he would feel about it all being taken away from the Wolverines, saying the only thing affected would be the outside world.

If Michigan gets the job done, McCarthy believes the Michigan players will be able to hold onto the moment, no matter what is handed down in the future.

“From an outside perspective, it would be very unfortunate to not get recognized for all the hard work we put in and everything we accomplished over this past year,” McCarthy said. “At the end of the day, it’s not going to change the amount of accomplish or pride for being on this football team and everything we accomplished. We know what we put in, we know the work that we put in.

“And we know that we did things the right way as players. Whatever happened with the outside controversy is out of our control. Whatever the NCAA wants to do is out of our control. We’re going to appreciate the things that we did control and the things we did accomplish.”

Defensive lineman Mason Graham commented on the situation as well, saying Michigan has just been working toward the national championship game. The outside controversy has been something to bring the Wolverines closer together along the away.

“We’ve been working all the way up to this moment,” McCarthy said. “Things happen along the way that don’t really fall into place. We’ve overcome a lot of adversity this season. I feel like it’s brought us closer together. I think everyone is starting to see us, maybe not the outside world, but at Schembechler Hall — we knew we wanted to be where we are right now.”

If the NCAA does wind up vacating wins from the 2023 season, a lot will be taken away from Michigan. As many as 15 wins will come off the record books and the year. That includes victories over Ohio State, the Big Ten Championship, the Rose Bowl vs. Alabama, and potentially the national championship against Washington.