Mike Barrett: All we heard was about Washington offense, not Michigan football defense

HOUSTON — Facing TCU in the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinal was supposed to just be a formality for the seemingly superior Michigan football team. Yet, once the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl ended, the result was the same as the 2021 CFP — quarterback J.J. McCarthy was languishing on the field watching the other team celebrate.

After the game, McCarthy was short and sweet: the team didn’t do enough, but they would be back. He walked off the dais in Phoenix after saying his piece.

His teammates were very aware of that. These Wolverines were questioned at every turn and targeted by several critics, including Pat McAfee, but they used that as motivation to lead the maize and blue past Washington in the national title game as well as Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

Sixth-year linebacker Michael Barrett stated, “We all knew what kind of team we had, what kind of defense we had.” “We didn’t perform well the past few years, but as J.J. mentioned, we were going to bounce back, and Blake Corum was coming back.” And we were all on his side. We had to go acquire something for him because he had promised it to us.

The storyline during the week preceding the national championship game focused on the Washington offense, which was led by Michael Penix Jr., a former quarterback for Indiana. Many of the same commentators who were doubtful of UW suddenly took one look at the dynamic offense and decided it would be too much for the Wolverines, despite the Huskies being similarly doubtful.

Yes, Michigan had the best defense going into the title game, but Washington had the best offense. A common query was how the Wolverines would contain Penix and his three receivers, Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, and Ja’Lynn Polk, or how the maize and blue would keep up with an attack that would undoubtedly score points in large quantities.

Well, it turned out that the winning score came in the first quarter, on running back Donovan Edwards’ second touchdown scamper. Barrett said that the defense took to heart the challenge in front of it and knew that it had something special — no matter what was thrown against it.

“Everyone always thought we weren’t the best team or defense in the nation, and they always asked us how we were going to get somebody else,” Barrett remarked. “The big question was how they were going to move the ball against us. Man, we just came up and got right to it. We just trusted each other that we would go out there and perform on all three levels, and we prepared the same way we prepare every week and every year.

Barrett has now played his final game wearing a winged helmet, but he will still be celebrating since on Saturday the Wolverines will commemorate winning the 2023 national title with a parade and pep rally in Ann Arbor.