CBS Sports aired a stat graphic Friday that won’t sit well with many Michigan fans.
During coverage of the Sun Bowl between Notre Dame and Oregon State, CBS discussed the upcoming bowl game matchups, including the College Football Playoff semifinal clash at the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Alabama. One of the topics of discussion, the recent struggles of Wolverines quarterback J.J. McCarthy, prompted the network to utilize a graphic that throws shade at the junior signal-caller.
CBS compared the stats of McCarthy before the resignation of Connor Stalions, a staffer who left amid an NCAA investigation into the program’s alleged sign-stealing operation, to his numbers after Stalions’s exit.
CBS went there. pic.twitter.com/oBsX5ManrC
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 29, 2023
At face value, there is some truth to the graphic. With Stalions on staff this season, McCarthy thrived to the tune of 18 touchdown passes against just three interceptions. After Stalions’s departure, McCarthy’s production dried up. But the CBS graphic, aside from painting McCarthy as a huge beneficiary of cheating, does ignore some important context.
McCarthy, who injured his ankle during Michigan’s Nov. 11 win over Penn State, has been playing through the ailment the past few weeks. Michigan’s schedule also got much tougher down the stretch against the likes of the Nittany Lions, Maryland, Ohio State and Iowa.
Clearly, CBS was not afraid of the wrath of Michigan fans when they created this graphic. But it could prove to be yet another source of motivation for the embattled Wolverines.
Michigan (13–0) plays Alabama (12–1) at 5 p.m. ET in Pasadena, Calif. The winner advances to the CFP national championship in Houston on Jan. 8.
