PASADENA, Calif. — The way Blake Corum sees it, the Michigan Wolverines are unbeaten, first in the rankings and two wins away from a national championship because of all the turmoil they’ve overcome this year, not in spite of it.
Michigan’s star running back explained his view while sitting among his teammates Saturday under a big white tent outside the rain-soaked Rose Bowl, where the Wolverines (13-0), the Big Ten champions, will face fourth-seeded Alabama (12-1), the Southeastern Conference champ, on Monday afternoon in a College Football Playoff semifinal.
“I think we learned from all our setbacks, all of our mistakes,” Corum said. “With this team, with everything we’ve been through this year, I think we’re stronger physically and mentally than we ever were. That’s a big part of why we’ve played so well. … We just came together.
“A team that I thought couldn’t get any closer, we did. When adversity hits, you can do two things: You can crumble, or you can keep going. We just kept going.”
The college football world already realizes Michigan’s pristine record and No. 1 ranking are poor camouflage for a profoundly messy season in Ann Arbor.