Despite a 34–11 loss to No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said the season offered a new beginning for the Wolverines.
"Yeah, it was a great season," Harbaugh said after the game. "To me, it’s one of the best seasons in Michigan football history. We were trying to make it greater.
"It's still a beginning for this team. This is about when our guys—Josh Ross to my left here and Cade McNamara to my right—that’s when it began last year, and it’ll begin anew this year."
Michigan became the first team to make the College Football Playoff after starting the season unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. The Wolverines also won the Big Ten championship after ending the regular season with its first win against rival Ohio State since 2011.
However, the Wolverines struggled in their first playoff appearance, as Georgia held a 27–3 lead at halftime after scoring on its first five drives.
The only Michigan touchdown came late in the fourth quarter when freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy came into the game for McNamara, leading one reporter to ask after the game about a potential quarterback controversy next season.
"We know we have two great quarterbacks," Harbaugh said. "We make no apologies for that. I felt we just weren’t—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."
