[jwplayer IhegsrEe-XNcErKyb]
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The past three seasons, Michigan has ended its seasons with a whimper.
Like clockwork, the Wolverines have high expectations for the season only to finish with two consecutive losses to finish the season, with a loss to Ohio State followed by a loss in the bowl game. Twice in the past four years, the Wolverines were on the verge of a potential College Football Playoff berth, if they could only beat Ohio State — which they haven’t since 2011.
Those expectations were significantly tampered this year, with an early blowout loss at Wisconsin and a rally that fell short to Penn State in Happy Valley. The maize and blue were out of the final four conversation by the time the Buckeyes came to town, but the result was exactly the same.
So, what’s to keep history repeating itself on that front? With a fourth consecutive season with two losses to finish out the year?
Well, for one, these Wolverines didn’t enter the final game of the regular season thinking they’d get that elusive victory over OSU and get to the playoffs. The Game was more about pride for the maize and blue, and though it still ended in a decisive loss at home to the Buckeyes, with Alabama slipping completely, not just out of the playoff picture, but also all the way down to a non-New Year’s Six game — uncharted territory for a team that has been in the College Football Playoff literally every single year since its 2014 inception — Michigan is relishing its opportunity to play against a top-tier opponent.
As mentioned, that hasn’t always been the case. In 2016, Michigan was inches away from making it into the playoff. In 2018, it was favored to beat OSU and make it then. Thus, the team found itself playing for consolation prizes.
This time around? Not so much.
“Last year, we were No. 4 in the country for the majority of the year and had high hopes,” senior quarterback Shea Patterson said. “And then lost and ended up playing Florida. Guys were disappointed in that game, maybe felt like we shouldn’t be playing in that game. Maybe felt like we should have been in the playoff if we wouldn’t have lost. But this year, I think everyone’s just on board with everything. No matter what the situation is, no matter who we’re playing, we’re gonna come in here and cook.”
But there’s more on the line than just finishing the season on a strong note.
Not only is Alabama arguably the most talented team in the country from top to bottom, but should the Wolverines pull out a victory, it would be the team’s second consecutive 10-win finish, and the fourth in five years under Jim Harbaugh.
It’s just an added bonus if it were able to come at the expense of a Crimson Tide team that’s, honestly, in Michigan’s shoes from the past several years — having higher expectations than the current situation.
“At the beginning of the season, if you would have told us that we were playing Bama in the Citrus Bowl, not a lot of us would have believed you,” junior defensive end Kwity Paye said. “Just for us to get this opportunity is huge. We’re all striving for that tenth win for the second year in a row. It’d be huge.”
Given that the Wolverines seem like they’re perennially playing Florida — they’ve faced the Gators twice in the postseason in the past five years, and once to start the season in 2017 — playing against a different top-tier SEC opponent certainly presents a more welcome challenge.
It could have been like the 2017 Outback Bowl, where Michigan played and lost to South Carolina. It was an injury plagued season that finished with a disinterested Wolverines team squandering a 19-point third quarter lead to the Gamecocks.
This game has gravitas, however, given Alabama’s pedigree. Everyone who can play in this game is eager to prove they belong on the big stage against a team that’s won it all more than anyone, which is why there’s an expectation that no one will sit out for the bowl game.
“I think everyone’s very excited to play in the game – I think everyone’s very excited to play Alabama,” senior left guard Ben Bredeson said. “There’s a lot of (positivity) in the building – I don’t know if that’s an overused word by us right now or anything, but it’s a general feeling. Everyone’s excited about it. Right now, it’s that awkward timing, we’re just counting down days until the game.”
So it’s not necessarily optimism that this team is embracing in its positivity as much as it is embracing the challenge of the situation. Which is something that has been sorely missing the past few postseasons.
“I think everybody sees it as the same thing: it’s been used about 20 different times – it’s an opportunity,” Bredeson said. “It’s exactly what it is. It’s the chance for us to show everybody what we can do this year. It’d be a nice way to end the year. Nice way to end the year, especially after losing this last game at home. It would mean a lot to the seniors and everybody to win this one.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=1361]