Braiden McGregor says representing Big Ten in CFP National Championship is 'bittersweet'
HOUSTON, Texas – The Michigan Wolverines took their turn this morning for media day at the College Football Playoff National Championship game one year after squandering an opportunity to play for it all.
U-M expected to be in this situation last year but lost its semifinal game against TCU, and senior EDGE Braiden McGregor reflected on the setback.
“We didn’t come out to play the way that we played all season and with the way we played this season,” McGregor said. “I feel like we were kind of looking ahead a little bit and we said we were locked in and focused, but I think at the end of the day we were so focused on Georgia with what they did to us the year before that we kind of looked past TCU.
“I think we’ve shown that, we are the No. 1 team in the country and that we don’t expect to lose. We expect to go out there and win. I kind of look at it like that.”
Last year’s title game – a 65-7 Georgia win over TCU – was a game that a lot of Michigan players were unable to watch or stomach. They knew it should have been them and that they let a chance to reach the mountaintop slip away.
“I didn’t watch the game,” McGregor said. “I saw it on Twitter and I saw it on some ESPN stuff that was just coming up. I didn’t watch the game, we were actually in Florida for a little bit of a break before school started, so I was just kind of soaking in the rays and just kind of hanging out and then catching it when I would look at the score, but I didn’t want to focus on it because it should have been us.”
Throughout the year, Michigan flexed its dominance and took care of every obstacle in the way en route to a 14-0 season and trip to Houston for the national title. It has not stopped anonymous coaches from across the country and inside the Big Ten from sharing their thoughts on the program with the media.
That, in addition to what Big Ten leadership itself did to punish the program down the stretch this season, has made it a bit of a “bittersweet” sensation, according to McGregor.
“I say because obviously, we want the support from our conference and the teams we have played,” McGregor said. “Shoutout to a couple of coaches who after we played them said, ‘They were that good.’ But then you have the other coaches that try to go behind our backs and say stuff that may or may not be true and then after wins be like, ‘Oh yeah, they were a good team and part of the Big Ten.
“At the end of the day, we are all part of the Big Ten. We support any Big Ten team that’s playing in the bowl games, especially against SEC teams or whoever. We just kind of want support from everybody else.”
McGregor and Michigan feel like they have a chance to capture this national title due to everything the program has been through this year, citing the brotherhood that has built over the last few seasons. With Washington on tap, they feel as well positioned as possible to pull it off.
“It’s us going out and playing,” McGregor said. “It’s what we do. They’re gonna make the play calls, but at the end of the day, we gotta go out and stop them or we gotta go out and score.
“I think just us as a team and the brotherhood we have has brought us close together. You can see it just when you walk around. Everybody loves each other and we all go to battle for each other. We’re all we got. Coaches can leave tomorrow and players obviously can too now, but we definitely all stay in contact and stuff with these guys, even the ones who have left.”
