The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503142
44 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2023 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY CHRIS BALAS W hen he approached the postgame inter- view table f o l - l o w i n g M i c h i - gan's stunning, 5 1- 4 5 l o s s to TCU in the Fi- esta Bowl, J.J. McCarthy ap- p ea re d d a z e d and pained. He'd led a fran- t i c U- M co m e ba c k with some incredible play in the second half to bring the Wolverines back from an early 21-3 deficit to get within three points, only to come up short at the end. Two McCarthy pick-sixes, includ- ing one in the fourth quarter with Michigan trailing by only a field goal, would prove costly in defeat. They were mistakes completely out of character for a first-year starter who had done a remarkable job protecting the ball to that point with only 3 interceptions on the season heading into the game. His one-answer press conference was indicative of a kid who felt he'd let his team down. "All credit to them," McCarthy said b e fo re l eav i n g t h e ro o m . "They won the game in the 60 minutes that was played. They're a good fo o t b a l l tea m . No matter what it is, they got the win. " We fo u g h t o u r hearts out. There were A TEAM GUY J.J. McCarthy Is Ready To Take His Game And The Wolverines To Another Level Lindy's Sports ranked McCarthy No. 7 in its preseason QB rankings and No. 8 on its Heisman watch list. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL