Michigan Football: 3 Fiesta Bowl X-Factors Crucial to the Wolverines’ Success

3. J.J. McCarthy

Surprise, surprise.

If TCU is truly committing to stopping the run in the Fiesta Bowl, the offense will rest in J.J. McCarthy’s arm.

J.J. hasn’t always looked capable of carrying the Wolverines, but things seemed to come together against Ohio State and carried that into Purdue. McCarthy will have a chance to have another big game on a big stage and will look to continue his run.

TCU’s 3-3-5 Defense will present a new challenge McCarthy has yet to face. The additional defensive back to account for will be a new wrinkle to account for him to deal with.

However, in aiming to stop the run, holes will open up. We saw it against Ohio State, which took this approach to an extreme.

McCarthy has the ability to find these holes and the talent to exploit them. He just needs to do it. If he does, Michigan football will be able to move the ball at will all over the Horned Frogs’ defense.