Michigan football comes into the 2023 College Football Playoff ranked No. 1 in the country, but it got an awfully tough draw in having to face No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Though 12-1 on the season, the Crimson Tide just upset the former No. 1 in Georgia, and will now see the Wolverines for the first time since after the 2019 season when the two teams played in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl.
On Sunday, Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke about how excited he is to play against Michigan again, noting that it will be a big challenge for his team.
“Our team is very excited about having the opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the country in the University of Michigan,” Saban said. “They’ve had a very, very successful season, Big Ten champs. I’d like to congratulate them on that. We’re going to look forward to the challenge that we have ahead in terms of what we have to do to prepare and be the best that we can be to play against the No. 1 team in the country.”
Though Saban admits to having not seen a lot of the maize and blue, he does have a seemingly good idea of what Jim Harbaugh’s team brings to the table.
Noting that the Michigan defense leads the way, he’s also aware of the challenges that quarterback J.J. McCarthy presents, especially if he’s healthy and can use his legs.
“Well, I haven’t had the opportunity to watch them yet and I don’t get to see very many college football games throughout the course of the season, but the little that I have seen is they’ve got a great defensive team,” Saban said. “I know they’re one of the best defensive teams in the country. They do a great job of attacking the ball and getting turnovers. They’re very productive on offense. Quarterback is a good player, good runner, great balance.
“I haven’t been able to see them, and it wouldn’t be fair to compare them to someone else that we play, but certainly have a tremendous amount of respect for what they’ve been able to accomplish all year long.”
Regardless of having lost to Texas in the second week of the season, Saban notes that Michigan will be seeing a different team than what took the field earlier in the year. Quarterback Jalen Milroe has settled into his role and has been a big threat for the Crimson Tide. Though Alabama has had some close calls throughout the 2023 campaign, Saban, naturally, feels that the committee made the right move including his team in the College Football Playoff.
“Yeah, well, we won 10 of 11 games in a row and beat the No. 1 team in the country,” Saban said. “We’re not the same team that we were when we played Texas earlier in the season. We were kind of in transition at the quarterback position. It was unsettling. I think it affected our team. Although Texas has a great team, and I think they deserve every opportunity in terms of their résumé and getting in the game.
“This is just one of those years where — there’s been other years like this, where somebody that may have been deserving got left out, and Florida State certainly going undefeated was — did everything they could to get in the playoffs, and unfortunately, probably because of the injury to the quarterback, they’re not going to have that opportunity.”
Michigan will have a chance to send home the perennial national champs on January 1 in the Rose Bowl.