5 things we learned from Rose Bowl win by Michigan football

If you had to pinch yourself this morning, nobody would blame you after Michigan football notched a win for the ages on Monday in the Rose Bowl.

It wasn't easy and Michigan football didn't play a perfect game. But it was magical all the same. The game-tying drive was the stuff of legend. The players never lost their belief and now, they will play for a national championship next Monday.

Here are five things we learned from Michigan football's 27-20 win over Alabama.

J.J. McCarthy is HIM

A lot of Michigan football players deserve credit: Blake Corum, the offensive line, Roman Wilson, the entire defense -- the list goes on and on -- but J.J. McCarthy delivered the kind of quarterback performance you need to beat a team like Alabama in a game like that.

McCarthy wasn't perfect. He missed some throws, but when he needed to be at his best, he was. There were some daggers in that game too. One that's forgotten is the strike to Kalel Mullings that helped set up the first touchdown. McCarthy also had a key 16-yard run on that final drive as well as three completions and a touchdown pass.

For all the critics who said McCarthy wasn't that great over the past month and who tried to explain away his success with "sign-gate", J.J. put that narrative to bed. He threw for 227 yards and three touchdowns. He didn't take a sack and wasn't intercepted. He also ran for 35 yards and engineered quite possibly the greatest drive in Michigan football history.

Jim Harbaugh called him the greatest quarterback in Michigan football history and there's no debate after the Rose Bowl.