In effort to learn from past, Michigan football changes College Football Playoff practices

One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

That’s the logic Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh kept in mind when he decided to tweak the way his No. 1 ranked Wolverines would prepare for their Rose Bowl matchup with No. 4 Alabama, according to his players.

Michigan is 1-6 overall in bowl games under Harbaugh, which includes an 0-2 record in College Football Playoff appearances the past two seasons.

Those recent CFP semifinals defeats, 34-11 to Georgia in 2021 and 51-45 to TCU in 2022, left enough scar tissue — literally and figuratively — that the Wolverines are making a concerted effort to preserve their bodies.

“We haven’t been in full pads as much, so it’s been a little bit of a toll off our body.” quarterback J.J. McCarthy said Monday. “This first couple weeks, we really just took things kind of light, easing into things and you know it’s been kind of fresh every single day.

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Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) takes a moment to watch TCU celebrate after Michigan lost, 51-45 at the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 31 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

“I think that’s going to be the biggest difference, keeping it balanced.”

The Wolverines had taken a week off each time after the previous two Big Ten championships, but unlike this year when they decided to slowly lay their ground work, the team would jump back in full throttle. What they found out the hard way: three full weeks of practice leading up to the game allowed the players to peak too soon.

“Coach Harbaugh kinda knew that just because the last few years we didn’t win, so something had to change,” McCarthy said. “He talked to other coaches around the country and stuff like that, try to…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/effort-learn-past-michigan-football-011037594.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2023-12-19 01:10:37

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