ANN ARBOR, Mich. — When you’re one of the top four teams in college football, some advantages can be razor-thin. But Michigan football has one that TCU does not: it has played in the College Football Playoff before.
While a 34-11 drubbing at the hands of Georgia isn’t ideal, given that the Wolverines have now been through the process, having experienced the spotlight and everything that comes with being in the top four, the maize and blue now know how not to be distracted by all of the pomp and circumstance while focusing on the task at hand.
Given that TCU is entering its first CFP, it’s a storm that Michigan is more prepared to weather.
“It’s huge for us because last year, everybody didn’t really think we’re gonna be that position. I assume some of us didn’t either,” senior left guard Trevor Keegan said. “I feel like last year, we’re just there for the opportunity. This year, we’re there to take the opportunity. We knew that we’re supposed to be there. We’re in this position, because how we work and how we are as a team. So I think it’s super important.”
“I just feel like the confidence of knowing we’ve been here before, we know the kind of mistakes we had last year leading up into it and the kind of things that we feel like we did wrong,” fifth-year linebacker Michael Barrett said. “And I feel like just now we just know how to go about it a little better now that we’ve been here and just go from there. Just kind of treat it as any other game, keep preparing.”
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That said, what was it like to play in the College Football Playoff the first time?
As Keegan noted, a year ago, the Wolverines were more so happy to be there, while Georgia had higher expectations. Barrett echoed those sentiments, as first-time entrants can get lost in the spectacle of it all.
For Michigan, having gone through it before, it could be a small advantage that the Wolverines can rely on.
“I wouldn’t say it was overwhelming, I’ll just say it was to the point where it was a lot of distractions,” Barrett said. “Guys weren’t used to being there. That made sense, we kind of went down there was sort of point to where I felt like we’re just happy to be there. And we let that kind of blind us from our goal and what we’re there to accomplish. And I feel like coming into this year I feel like we’ve been there and we just know how to prepare and know what we’re there for.”
We’ll know more about whether or not that plays a part in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 at 4 p.m. EST, when Michigan plays TCU in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
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