The No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama football teams have been in Los Angeles for more than half a week now, occupying the same spaces but never truly coming face to face. Monday afternoon will bring them together on the same field in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl.
Michigan (13-0) holds an unbeaten record heading into the game, which is slated for 2 p.m. on New Year’s Day. It’s the Wolverines’ third straight appearance in the College Football Playoff and 21st overall appearance in the Rose Bowl.
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“The hay is never in the barn for us,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who served a pair of three-game suspensions this season. “We never think of it that way. Things to clean up, polishing the diamond as we like to say, make the most of this day.”
It will be the sixth time overall that Michigan and Alabama meet in a game. Alabama last beat Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, 35-16, in 2019.
The Crimson Tide (12-1) is playing in its eighth Rose Bowl game and is 5-1-1 in “The Granddaddy of Them All” heading into the contest. Coach Nick Saban is 16-6 in postseason games and is seeking to win his eighth national championship with Alabama.
“I think (we’ve been) trying to create the right mindset in the last 48 hours leading up to the game, to really focus on execution, because we have a plan,” said Saban, who hasn’t gone more than three seasons between national championships in his 17-year Alabama tenure but will need to win this one to keep that streak alive. “Everybody has got an accountability and a responsibility to do a job.”
The Rose Bowl winner will head to Houston next week to face the winner of Monday’s Sugar Bowl contest between No. 2 Washington (13-0) and No. 3 Texas (12-1).
Behind the excitement is the quiet possibility that this could be the last game at his school for whichever famed coach loses.
Saban is 72, and retirement rumors have circulated throughout college football’s back channels in recent months. Saban has shrugged it off publicly with humor.
“Yeah, I’ve heard them before,” Saban said. “I think when you get my age, everybody is waiting for you to – you know.”
And with NCAA investigators circling Harbaugh and the Wolverines, few will be surprised if the 60-year-old elects to return to the NFL. If Michigan wins a national title as punctuation, it would make even more sense.
WHEN MICHIGAN HAS THE BALL
Big Ten Quarterback of the Year J.J. McCarthy holds the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in program history (46:11) heading into the game and has reliable receivers in Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson, who average 50.92 and 43.62 yards per game, respectively.
“He’s like the kid in the candy store, whether we’re in a meeting, at practice,” Harbaugh said of McCarthy. “It’s just infectious in every way. His play has been outstanding. He is really locked in for this game.”
Tight end Colston Loveland has hauled in 40 catches for 572 yards and four touchdowns and ranks ninth in receiving yards and eighth in receptions out of all tight ends in the nation.
Running back Blake Corum has rushed for 1,028 yards and 24 touchdowns this season and has more than 3,000 career rushing yards. He’s the only player in the country to score in every game his team played this season.
Alabama’s defense allows an average of 18.4 points per game, which ranks 17th nationally, and has grabbed at least one interception in the last nine games.
Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell lead the linebacker group. Turner is 14th in total pressures according to Pro Football Focus and is 11th nationally in pass rush. PFF ranks Braswell 11th in terms of total pressures.
WHEN ALABAMA HAS THE BALL
Milroe has grown into the Tide’s starting job since getting benched for a week in September, and Michigan must protect against both his arm and his legs. Milroe has a knack for big plays – none bigger than his 31-yard TD pass on fourth down to beat Auburn last month.
The redshirt sophomore averages 226.4 passing yards per game.
“I think passing is the biggest thing,” Milroe told reporters on Thursday. “Number one of playing quarterback is throwing the football because the ball can get there quicker than my legs can.”
He set a new Alabama record for single-game rushing touchdowns with four against LSU and then became the only quarterback in program history to throw for three touchdowns and rush for another three in a single game against Kentucky.
Leading rusher Jase McClellan is expected back after he missed the SEC title game, while Jermaine Burton leads a deep receiving corps with 35 catches for 777 yards and eight touchdowns. Twenty-one of his receptions have resulted in a first down.
The Tide’s offense is 47 for 50 on red zone opportunities and will face a Michigan defense that is second-best in the nation in total defense. The Wolverines allow 239.2 total yards per game.
For Michigan, linebacker Junior Colson was this season’s Lott IMPACT Trophy winner and was voted the team’s toughest player by his teammates. His 79 total tackles lead the team. Edge rusher Jaylen Harrell has collected nine tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season.
For more on the matchup, check out our scouting report.
No. 1 MICHIGAN (13-0) vs. No. 4 ALABAMA (12-1)
When: Monday, 2 p.m.
Where: Rose Bowl
TV/radio: ESPN, 710 AM, 830 AM
The Associated Press contributed to this story.