Michigan QB Talks Ohio State, Championship Drought
As the Wolverines prepare to navigate through one of college football's toughest schedules in 2021, we sat down with J.J. McCarthy - Michigan's highly-rated true freshman quarterback - to discuss the outlook for the upcoming season and more.
Of course, no conversation with a Michigan quarterback is complete without discussing the rivalry with Ohio State. The Wolverines are currently in the midst of an eight-game losing streak to the Buckeyes and have lost 15 of the last 16 contests. To make matters worse, the gap between Michigan and Ohio State seems to be getting wider - with the last two meetings resulting in historic blowout losses for Michigan.
The struggles against Ohio State have led many within the Michigan fan base to question whether or not the Michigan Football program still takes the rivalry seriously. Following Ohio State's 56-27 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor back in 2019, quarterback Justin Fields answered that very question while addressing the media.
"I just think we take it more seriously than they do, I think. We prepare for it all year," he said. "We're preparing for them next year right now. I think it just means more at Ohio State. That's pretty much, I think, the bigger reason why we have more success than they do."
Ouch.
To his credit, McCarthy didn't shy away from the tough questions at all. In fact, the true freshman quarterback addressed it directly during our discussion. Here's what he had to say:
On the rivalry with Ohio State
"You see how passionate the fans are about it, so ramp that up by 10 and that's how passionate we are about it."
"It's been really, really awesome to see it [the rivalry] first hand. It's not so much of a hatred against them, its just a burning desire to finally get over the hump."
"That's the only team that's been in our way."
"That's the one game that's always in the back of our heads."
On the criticism Michigan receives for its lack of success against Ohio State
"When I hear stuff like that, it just goes in one ear and out the other. Because, no matter what fan it is - nobody is trying to beat them as bad as we are as a team."
On Michigan's Big Ten Championship drought
"We see the opportunity in front of us and we see the years that have gone passed. We see those banners up in the field house ever single day. Every single sprint we run, every single play we run. It's just a motivating factor every single day because it's been so long."
You can view the full video of our discussion below:
