Gus Johnson believes there's one player who can significantly help his Heisman stock this weekend
Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy should receive consideration for an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony with a strong showing in the Big Ten title game, says broadcaster Gus Johnson.
"You need to think about J.J. McCarthy," said Johnson. "He's coming off the game of his life in the biggest game of his life, and then he's going to play in the Big Ten championship this weekend." The opportunity to lead Michigan to a 13-0 season and produce another great game this Saturday against Purdue should give him a significant boost before the Heisman finalists are revealed on Dec. 5.
"If he has another incredible game and, say, Caleb Williams kind of falls off like C.J. Stroud did last week, J.J. McCarthy might sneak in there," he said.
Prior to last Saturday, conventional wisdom said that if Michigan was to send someone to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony, it would be running back Blake Corum. After he sustained a knee injury against Illinois and missed the majority of the Ohio State game, it was announced on Thursday he's expected to undergo season-ending knee surgery.
The team has great depth at the running back position, led by Donovan Edwards. Against Ohio State, he rushed 22 times for 216 yards and scored two long touchdowns that stuck a fork in the Buckeyes.
Before he got going in the second half, it was McCarthy who kept Michigan in the game.
When speaking to Yardbarker in partnership with Hampton by Hilton, Johnson admitted he didn't expect Michigan-Ohio State to play out the way it did.
"To be honest with you, I never thought Michigan would win that game," he said. "Not in Ohio, in Columbus rather. And they hadn't won there since 2000."
McCarthy not only changed the complexion of the game with his play but also shifted the narrative around his season. He finished the game against Ohio State with 290 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. He had touchdowns throws of 45, 69, and 75 yards.
"We've all been criticizing him," Johnson continued, "for not being able to throw the deep ball. But I tell you what: he threw the deep ball in that game."
His first touchdown pass came on a third-and-nine when he threw the ball at the sticks to wide receiver Cornelius Johnson who avoided a couple of attempted arm tackles before turning on the jets for a 69-yard touchdown to tie the game at 10.
The next touchdown came on a beautiful deep ball -- also to Johnson -- that gave Michigan a 17-13 lead.
His final touchdown gave Michigan a lead it would never relinquish. On the opening drive of the third quarter, McCarthy found another wide-open receiver, tight end Colston Loveland, for a 24-20 lead. Michigan would win the game 45-23.
This season, McCarthy is 177-of-271 (65.3 percent) for 2,215 yards and 17 touchdowns with only two interceptions. He's added 240 yards and four touchdowns on 55 carries.
While McCarthy lacks the eye-popping numbers put up by USC QB Williams or Ohio State QB Stroud, he makes up for it with the fact that he's the only one of the three to lead an undefeated team into conference championship weekend. He's also playing his best football at the most important time. Voters should take notice.
It certainly helps that he outplayed Stroud -- a player considered to have a strong chance of making it to New York -- in "The Game."
It was only a week ago that McCarthy was largely an afterthought on his own team. He's got the spotlight on him for this week's Big Ten title game; what he does with it will determine how much more shine he gets.
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