The Michigan football team walked into the Rose Bowl as the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff field and defeated Alabama in overtime to clinch a spot in the national title game against Washington. Furthermore, with rumors swirling involving where Jim Harbaugh will go and the entire Connor Stalions debacle, there have been plenty of distractions for the Michigan football program this year.

But, the Michigan football team got a much-needed win over Alabama, and their ‘So What?” mentality has been rising true, as linebacker Michael Barrett pointed out (h/t Bruce Feldman of The Athletic).

“The identity of this team is ‘So what?’ OK, you’re a five-star. So what? You gotta show me. All that talk, all of that yip-yap, that don’t matter. All that matters is what you do in between these white lines for four quarters, man. That’s what matters. You gotta be the most physical team for four quarters. Not the first two minutes of the game. Not the two minutes before halftime. All game. You gotta be able to strain mentally and physically for all four quarters. And I think we did that today.”

The game is won on the field, not on the recruiting front or the ranking system, and the Michigan football team went out to prove that as much. It was a back-and-forth game, but Blake Corum's huge run in overtime gave the Michigan football team the lead, and a questionable play call by Alabama on fourth down will be discussed for some time.

Now, the Wolverines are one game away from becoming national champions, and they will have a tough task against the Huskies.

Nonetheless, the So What mentality will carry over to the final game of the season for the Michigan football program with a national title on the line against Washington on January 8 in Houston.