'We Have To Go Get It': Wolverines Preparing For National Championship Run
The Michigan Football program has made an incredible transformation under the leadership of head coach Jim Harbaugh. Prior to Harbaugh's arrival back in 2015, the Wolverines were talented, but lacked several key elements of being a national championship contender.
Instead of the immediate change that most expected upon Harbaugh's arrival, Michigan's rise to becoming a legitimate championship contender has been a slow burn. Although Michigan's winning percentage increased with Harbaugh at the helm, the Wolverines still failed to beat Ohio State, win the division, and play for a conference championship through his first six seasons as head coach.
Entering year seven, Harbaugh's demeanor was noticeably different when he arrived in Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days. Fresh off of a brutal 2-4 record during the shortened 2020 COVID year, and with many questioning whether or not he was the right man for the job, Harbaugh took to the podium and emphatically set the tone for the 2021 season.
“Well, I’m here before you, enthusiastic and excited as I ever am, always am, even more to have at it, to win the championship, to beat Ohio and our rival Michigan State,” Harbaugh said. “That’s what we want to do, and we’re going to do it or die trying.”
And with that proclamation, the Michigan Football program proceeded to reel off two consecutive dominant wins over Ohio State, two consecutive Big Ten Championships, and two consecutive trips to the College Football Playoff.
Now, entering the 2023 season, the Wolverines aren't satisfied with simply repeating their success from the previous two seasons. Instead, this group of Wolverines want the biggest prize in all of college football - a national championship.
A critical piece to Michigan's national championship hopes is junior quarterback JJ McCarthy. Entering his third year at Michigan, McCarthy believes that this team can become one of the best ever to wear the winged helmet.
"I want to be one of the best teams to ever play this game," said starting quarterback JJ McCarthy. "We have the potential to do it, we have the talent to do it, we have the dedication and commitment and hard work to do it, it's all about just putting it together and executing the plan."
Another critical piece to the puzzle is running back Blake Corum, who put his NFL dreams on pause for another year at Michigan. For Corum, his return represented another chance to build on his legacy and, more importantly, deliver a national championship to Ann Arbor.
"The number one goal is to win a national championship, we have to go get it," Corum said. "Goal two is to repeat - beat Ohio State, beat Michigan State, win the Big Ten Championship."
With the Wolverines returning over 80 percent of their production from last year, the belief in Ann Arbor - particularly within the walls of Schembechler Hall - is that the 2023 season represents Michigan's best shot at winning a national championship.
"We have a team this year that really should do what we set out to do for two years," said edge rusher Braiden McGregor. "If we focus and lock in, go every day as hard as we possibly can, there shouldn't be anybody that should he able to stop u
