When the College Football Playoff matchups were announced earlier this month, the biggest story was Alabama getting in over Florida State.
When the Crimson Tide were announced as the fourth and final team in the playoff field, many took note of the Michigan team reaction. The top-ranked undefeated Wolverines would have to play the full-strength SEC champs as opposed to an FSU team that was missing its star quarterback.
While some thought Michigan’s reaction indicated they were worried about facing Alabama, linebacker Michael Barrett says that wasn’t the case.
“It’s funny that I keep hearing everybody say we’re scared because we got ‘Bama. It was more like the shock of not seeing an undefeated Power 5 team get picked,” Barrett said, via Brett McMurphy. “We kind of figured that all the undefeated teams were going to come and we were just debating on who would slip into that fourth spot. So not seeing Florida State in there, it was kind of a shock to everybody. It wasn’t really like fear, never that, of any team. It was just more that shock. We kind of just were already expecting, ‘Okay, if they got (Texas) at 3, then they’ve got to be Florida State at 4.'”
Michigan LB Michael Barrett when Bama announced as Rose Bowl opponent: “It’s funny that I keep hearing everybody say we’re scared because we got ‘Bama. It was more like the shock of not seeing an undefeated Power 5 team get picked. We kind of figured that all the undefeated teams…
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 28, 2023
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There are going to be some people who think Barrett is lying about this, but whether he is or isn’t won’t matter in four days. That’s when the Crimson Tide and Wolverines will meet and decide things on the field.
Michigan and Alabama will kick off at 5 p.m. ET from the Rose Bowl on Monday. ESPN will broadcast the action.