Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy has 'elevated' confidence on heels of Ohio State win

On3 imageby:Clayton Sayfie11/30/22

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Michigan Wolverines football knocked off Ohio State as more than a touchdown favorite, and did it in blowout fashion in Columbus, winning 45-23. The Maize and Blue have their first undefeated regular season since 1997 and are set to play Purdue in the Big Ten title game. Either way, they’re expected to head to the College Football Playoff.

Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy had been up-and-down in the weeks leading up to Ohio State, but had his best game in the biggest one, throwing for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns and adding a rushing score. He, and the team, have an elevated sense of confidence after cracking the Buckeyes.

“For me personally, definitely confidence is elevated,” McCarthy explained. “I wouldn’t say ‘through the roof,’ because I still feel like I could have done so much more in that game. But as a team, it just solidifies who we are and what we’re capable of doing and the excitement for what’s ahead.”

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Purdue is what’s ahead, then there’s so much more to accomplish. College Football Playoff semifinals, potentially the national championship … Michigan has put itself in position to capture it all. And it feels different than last season, senior guard Trevor Keegan said, with the Wolverines now “expecting” to win the conference rather than being out to prove it could.

“Yeah, I feel like the way we look at it is it’s another game in the way of our ultimate goal, which is a national championship,” McCarthy said of this year’s Big Ten championship game. “And last year, it was kind of one of our main goals to win a Big Ten Championship.

“And obviously, we’re not taking them lightly. And we’re not taking this game lightly, whatsoever. But we’re just excited to get back there, enjoy it and dominate on all three cylinders.”

McCarthy said he believes Michigan is a national title contender because it’s a “complete” team.

“I mean, 12-0 was really hard to do, no matter what conference you’re in or what team you’re on,” he added. “But I just feel like 12-0 — doesn’t matter unless you finish the job. And no matter what happens next, we’re still focused on going 15-0.”

Michigan can’t go 15-0 without first taking care of business against Purdue as a 15-point favorite. Head coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned earlier in the week that the Boilermakers are “dangerous” and will be excited for their first time playing in the championship.

“The biggest thing to me is that they’re 3-0 against top-five teams,” McCarthy said of Purdue’s track record under head coach Jeff Brohm. “And that’s something that jumps off the table right away of, we’ve got to take these guys seriously.

“It’s just not going to be a team that’s 8-4. They have great athletes on defense, got a very well-coached offense, and Aidan O’Connell is a great quarterback. So, it’s gonna be a fun one. It’s gonna be fun one, but really excited to see how we match up against it.”

J.J. McCarthy reaches out to Aidan O’Connell

O’Connell’s brother, Sean, died suddenly last week. The Purdue quarterback has spent time away from the team this week as the rest of the Boilermakers prepare to take on Michigan, but he’s expected to give it a go Saturday night in Indianapolis.

McCarthy was asked if he’s reached out to O’Connell given that there’s a quarterback fraternity in college football.

“Yeah, I shot him a DM earlier this week,” McCarthy said. “And it just sucks. I mean, that’s, that’s bigger than football stuff. It really is.

“And especially like you said, the quarterback fraternity, it’s such a tight-knit group with all the quarterbacks around the country, because we were the only guy in our position, and nobody else really gets it from other positions. So, it’s really awesome to kind of have that brotherhood outside of our teams.”

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