If Michigan had any chance at a comeback against Georgia, Cade McNamara wasn’t going to be the quarterback behind it. He had been pressured into poor decisions all game long. He had been sacked four times and picked off twice. He had taken the Wolverines here, to the College Football Playoff, but it was clear he wasn’t taking them any further.
And this might be as far as he ever takes them. With Michigan trailing 27-3 late in the third quarter, Jim Harbaugh turned the game over to freshman J.J. McCarthy. It was a move for the moment that could also serve the future.
Asked if his decision to go with McCarthy could have any bearing on a potentially heated QB battle next season, Harbaugh said, "We know we have two great quarterbacks. We make no apologies for that. The protection just wasn’t as good as it needed to be and J.J. gave us more of a chance to escape it, avoid it and run. That was the reason we made that switch."
McCarthy did handle Georgia's pressure better than McNamara, albeit against a defense that had taken its foot off the gas. He threw the Wolverines’ only touchdown of the game on a 35-yard back-foot pass and scrambled out of a number of near sacks. McNamara was a much easier target, part of the reason the Bulldogs posted four sacks after getting shut out by Alabama in the SEC championship.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said his defense "called a lot of the same calls we called against Alabama, but (Michigan’s) QB probably didn’t escape as good as Alabama’s did and we finished a little better.”
McCarthy finished 7-17 for 131 yards, one touchdown and no picks, with 24 net rushing yards on four attempts. McNamara finished 11-19 for 106 yards with no touchdowns and two picks, with zero net rushing yards on six attempts. Against a defense as fast and athletic as Georgia's, McCarthy certainly looked like the more capable quarterback. He looked like he could hang.
Time will tell if Harbaugh keeps that in mind entering next season. Clearly, Michigan needs elite quarterback play to compete with the best of the best. McNamara's floor is safe, especially against conference opponents. But McCarthy's ceiling feels too high to resist, because Michigan's ceiling rises with it. McNamara was overmatched Friday and the game was quickly over.
The QB battle for 2022 -- assuming McNamara sticks around -- has only just begun.