Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy told reporters Tuesday that last year's 34-11 loss to Georgia in the College Football Playoff semifinal helped kickstart this season's success.
"It was shared suffering for sure," McCarthy said, per ESPN's Paolo Uggetti. "It jump-started the whole offseason. We hit it really hard right away ... we're still riding that now."
The 13-0 Wolverines roll into this year's CFP as the No. 2 seed, and they will play the No. 3 TCU Longhorns Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in the Fiesta Bowl.
"We're not just happy to be here, we want to get past it," McCarthy told reporters about the team's national championship aspirations.