Michigan’s playoff semifinal loss to Texas Christian inspired its run to the Rose Bowl

On the plane ride back from Michigan’s crushing 51-45 loss to Texas Christian in last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter began jotting down his thoughts as he watched the film.

“Looking at myself, how did we prepare,” Minter said. “Did we take the right angles to the ball, are we playing like our hair is on fire, were we doing too much, were we not doing enough, were we going after the football at times that that was there, were we communicating at a level we needed to?”

Minter used those reflections to set the tone for the Wolverines’ defense this season, and Michigan edge rusher Jaylen Harrell has noticed the difference.

“After that game last year, that’s when we kind of saw the pillars of our defense, stuff like that, kind of come back to the basics,” Harrell said. “Last year when it was needed, we didn’t have it. Communication wasn’t there, our angles and tackling wasn’t there. So we really took it to heart this offseason and really focused on that and made it an emphasis to get back to where we wanted to be, which is right now.”

Read more: Did Miller Moss win USC’s starting QB job? Takeaways from Trojans Holiday Bowl win

One year later, Michigan is back in the CFP semifinals for the third year in a row, as it hopes to change its fortunes after semifinal losses during each of the past two seasons. That isn’t lost on Wolverines linebacker Michael Barrett, especially compared to the team he’ll be lining up against during the Rose Bowl on Monday.

“[Alabama’s] had success here over the years, especially the SEC,” Barrett said. “They’ve had a lot of success on these stages over the years. The Big Ten hasn’t.”

The contrast is plain to see: While Michigan is 0-2 in the CFP era, the Crimson Tide are 9-4 with three titles and five appearances in the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/michigans-playoff-semifinal-loss-texas-000428431.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2023-12-29 00:04:28

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