Michigan Football: Final ruling is out on the Cade vs. JJ QB debate…

As a ton of people in the comments section know already, I have talked about the Cade vs. J.J. McCarthy QB competition constantly, with Cade supporters on one side of the aisle, and JJ supporters on the other side of the aisle. Feel free to roll your eyes now.

I have given countless reasons why JJ should be the starting QB for Michigan football in previous articles, but the reality is, sometimes you just have to trust your veterans to get you to the doorstep. That veteran would be Cade McNamara.

Apparently, JJ and Cade have both looked really good in practices, which is great for competition-sake, but nobody has really elevated themself ahead of the other (unless Jim Harbaugh just doesn’t want to show his hand).

I feel confident in saying that I believe Cade McNamara will be the first QB taking snaps against Colorado State on September 3rd, but I wouldn’t be surprised if JJ was the first to trot out onto the field.

Michigan football has obviously proven that they can win with either quarterback, and both QBs have the skillset to lead Michigan to the playoff this year on their own, but there is one QB who can get Michigan to the playoff, and the other who can win in the playoffs.

The final ruling is out on Cade vs. JJ

Every D-I college football team in America wants to make the College Football Playoff. Every single team. Unfortunately, only four make it in every year. It’s a very small and select field of the best teams that college football has to offer.

Every team in America just wants to be a playoff contender. Just being in the hunt for the playoffs on the final week of the regular season is something every team dreams of doing, and Michigan football hadn’t made that dream a reality and crossed the finish line until last season.

The next step for Michigan though is going from a playoff contender to a national championship contender. The easy part was getting to the playoff. The hard part is actually winning in the playoff and getting to the national championship.

The game against Georgia last year should’ve really opened your eyes to the divide between the playoff contenders and the national championship contenders.

Michigan football wasn’t a pretender last year, as they proved they could make it to the playoff, but the Wolverines also showed that they still have a long ways to go to make it to the level of Georgia and Alabama.

This is where the Cade vs. JJ final ruling comes in.

The final ruling on Michigan football’s QB competition

Cade showed us more than enough last year to prove that he has what it takes to lead Michigan football to the college football playoff. If the Wolverines did this every single year, you’d have almost no complaints from me, except…

Making the playoff is one thing, but eventually you want to win the national championship, right? That’s why Jim Harbaugh came back after interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings.

That’s what he said himself. Harbaugh wasn’t satisfied with just making the playoff. He wanted more than that. He wants to win a national title.

With J.J. McCarthy, Michigan can win a national championship. I truly believe that. In order to beat the Alabama’s and Georgia’s of the world, or just the best teams in general, another gear is needed in the college football playoff. Even more so than in conference play.

Michigan never found that gear in the Orange Bowl last year and got blown out. The recruiting  gap was definitely a big reason why Michigan was blown out last season, but Georgia also had another gear that Michigan just didn’t have.

This is why JJ is the one that can win national titles. He has all of the tools to be able to flip his switch and play at that elite, elite level. Cade is a top 15-20 QB in college football at his peak, but JJ is a top 5-10 QB at his peak, and, as shown in the playoff, that talent is needed to beat the best of the best, on the biggest stage.

Again, just Cade getting Michigan to the playoff is amazing. I don’t want to diminish that accomplishment at all. So many teams still haven’t even sniffed the playoff yet. Only three Big Ten teams have ever made the playoff in the entire conference. If all Michigan does is beat OSU, win the Big Ten, and go to the playoff every year, that’s fine with me.

But that doesn’t mean that I would be completely satisfied with a quick exit every single playoff appearance. It would still be disappointing, as there is always the potential for more. The national championship is the goal. Participation trophies only go so far in college football.

That is why, once the playoffs begin, Michigan needs to flip the switch to JJ. This only matters if Michigan makes the playoff again. If not, none of this even matters.

You can’t tell me that JJ would’ve struggled quite as much as Cade did in that Georgia game. If you watched that game, it was night and day. The talent was on display. In JJ’s brief game action, he dazzled, the offense was moving, and he made Georgia’s defense look silly.

Now just imagine if JJ was in for that entire game instead of just a few series. The outcome might’ve at least been a little closer. We’ll never know though.

Cade is plenty good enough to get Michigan to the playoff. He makes Michigan a playoff contender. That is awesome. But JJ can get Michigan a national title. That is exceptional.

Of course, most people will once again disagree with this assessment and that’s fine. I still love Cade. Always have. Always will. I don’t write these articles to have everyone agree 24/7. But there is an obvious talent disparity. One QB was a four-star coming out of high school. The other QB was a five-star coming out of high school. There is a talent disparity. You can’t act like there isn’t.

I think the reason why there is such a battle between both QBs in camp is the difference in experience. I think that’s the only reason why it’s as close as it is. But the fact that JJ is only in his second year, and is battling a fourth year veteran shows you JJ’s talent and potential. Feel free to disagree though.

So that’s the final ruling. One QB makes Michigan a playoff contender, and the other QB makes Michigan a national title contender.

Michigan fans, what do you think of this “final ruling?” Sound off in the comments below!