Michigan football: J.J. McCarthy welcomes the challenge of Ohio Stadium
Michigan football will once again enter its contest against Ohio State as an underdog despite being 11-0 and coming off a win and Big Ten title last season. The Wolverines are expecting to go into a hostile environment and one that likely tops anything they have seen to this point.
Michigan sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been a part of teams that have won games at Wisconsin, Nebraska, Penn State and Iowa, among other stops. That experience could help the Wolverines at The Horseshoe on Saturday afternoon.
“At the end of the day, it’s really all just noise, and all just a bunch of fans that like to boo you and don’t like you very much,” McCarthy said on Tuesday night. “And you just do whatever you can to transmute that and use it against them. So I feel like a lot of situations we’ve been through this year, with like facing adversity on the road and being in Iowa, is just going to help us tremendously this weekend.”
There is some extra juice around Michigan for this Saturday’s matchup, and rightfully so. Even with some potential injury concerns, the vibe in the building is as positive and excitable as it has been all season.
“There’s just a sense of energy that wasn’t really present in the last 11 weeks or 12 weeks with the bye week,” he said. “Everyone’s ready to go. Like I said, the stars are aligning. And it’s finally here. And we couldn’t be more excited.”
Michigan QB shows some love for OSU program
Once upon a time, McCarthy was a follower and admirer of both Michigan and Ohio State. It has given him some interesting perspective on the rivalry.
“It was always just very unique, the whole Michigan versus Ohio State rivalry and I just kind of felt attracted towards it,” McCarthy said. “I grew up a Braxton Miller fan, I grew up loving just the passion that Michigan had. So I was kind of on both sides the whole way. And I’m extremely grateful to be in this spot for sure, though.”
But as far as game plans go, it’s all business. McCarthy sees a much-improved OSU defense from last season’s group.
“They do a really good job with their safeties and their safety plays, disguising everything and getting down in run fits and stuff like that, which was different from last year,” McCarthy said. “And it’s gonna be really awesome to see how they match up with our big boys up front.
[OSU defensive coordinator] Jim Knowles coming from the Big 12 is a totally different defense than playing Big Ten football. So, be very interesting to kind of test ourselves out against that.”
Michigan has its work cut out for it, but the confidence gained from winning last year’s game should give them a lift in the building.
“There’s more confidence because we proved that we can do it,” McCarthy said. “We’re matching up what we did last year to try to outdo that. And we just want to dominate on all cylinders. And yeah, that’s what we’re really focused on this Saturday.
