If you asked random people to name the five schools most synonymous with college football, you’d have a hard time finding a Top 5 that doesn’t include both the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan Wolverines. On New Year’s Day, these programs will face off at the Rose Bowl for only the sixth meeting in their storied histories
Harbaugh v. Saban. Big Ten v. SEC. Know-It-All Brother v. Know-It-All Brother. The team that reached No. 1 in the nation in spite of an ‘advanced scouting’ scandal v. the 12-1 team that took a spot from unbeaten Florida State, creating the first unblemished Power 5 champ to ever miss the playoff.
As Joey Harrington put it during the Playoff Selection show, “if our goal is to have the four best teams, there’s nothing to do with what you deserve, just give us the four best teams.”
Granted, it’s a hard argument to make when Georgia suddenly find themselves on the outside, but it has been made regardless.
Looking past the festering bad blood between Michigan and the upper brass of both the NCAA and Big Ten, the main thing that the Wolverine faithful are occupied with is washing out the bitter taste of back-to-back losses in the CFP semifinal round – the most recent being a 51-45 upset by TCU where Michigan was favored by eight points.
All eyes will be on Wolverines starting quarterback JJ McCarthy. After a hot start to the season, McCarthy’s production in the passing game was notably dampened in the final four games, during which he never eclipsed 150 yards through the air. In a matchup against the Crimson Tide’s dual threat under center, Jalen Milroe, Michigan fans will be locked in on McCarthy’s performance if this game turns into a shootout.
For Alabama, the concerns mount heavily in the trenches as they prepare to face the nation’s top defense and a vaunted run game, led by Michigan’s new single-season touchdown record holder, Blake Corum, and the explosive counterpunch of Donovan Edwards. After seeing their season nearly crumble at Jordan-Hare when they surrendered 244 rushing yards to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide can’t afford a similar outing against the Wolverines, who are also second in the nation in turnover margin.
But, from the ‘thirty-thousand-foot view’, this game tells a very different story. A faceoff between two of the biggest personalities the sport has ever seen, the two conferences that have come to define college football, and the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing from mass-media juggernauts into said conferences and the athletic programs that are doing something that has become more and more of a rarity – drawing meaningful television ratings.
It’s a tale of two cities when comparing the national championship resumes of Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh. The former holds a 9-4 record in CFP games, accumulating three titles in the process. Meanwhile, Harbaugh is still looking for his first CFP win (currently 0-2), as well as shaking a nasty 1-6 record in bowl games with Michigan. The meeting also presents Harbaugh with an opportunity to show up his out-of-state rival, Ryan Day, whose team fell in his only meeting with Saban’s Crimson Tide in the National Championship three years ago.
With conjecture about a potential return to the NFL only growing louder, it’s easy to say that the outcome of Monday’s game will loom large on the greater legacy of Harbaugh’s reign at his alma mater, regardless of where the winds may guide him afterward. A win at the Rose Bowl would give coach Harbaugh and the Wolverines their first crack at a national title in more than a quarter-century, a fitting end to a season that saw Michigan become the first school in college football history to eclipse the 1000-win mark.
For coach Saban, it’s a chance to dispel any notion that Alabama is ceding ground to Georgia as the eminent power in the glamour conference that trademarked the motto “it just means more,” and subsequently prove that his industry-leading salary is still money well spent. The restoration of Jalen Milroe serving as the latest feather in a cap that is already highly decorated.
Regardless of which of these monolithic titans comes away victorious on New Year’s Day, the sentiment that will echo from either side is already apparent: how can you doubt me now?
Michigan meets Alabama in the 2023 Rose Bowl Game, kickoff at 5:00pm EST on New Year’s Day from Pasadena.
