Michigan 27, Alabama 20, 1OT

[THE_WIZARD_]

The battles as I see...the Bammer OL against the M DL will be intriguing...will be a slugfest. Milroe and his running/scrambling ability will test the M defense like they have not been yet. Should be a classic.

[Cody_Russell]

That’s part of how Georgia rolled Michigan in 2021. They dominated trench warfare with all of their talented linemen. Eye test, Bama did very well there yesterday vs Georgia.

M will need Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, and others to actually come through vs an opponent like Bama. They mostly have vs Ohio State in recent years.

It will also be significant for Sherrone Moore to clean up the OLine play without Zinter.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Godzilla vs. King Kong

[lineygoblue]

Good choice by Michigan choosing to play the game at the Rose Bowl instead of the Sugar. In New Orleans, it would have been a hugely partisan Alabama crowd. Now, at least you make them Tide folks make the trek all the way to Cally if they want to see the game. Michigan is usually well supported where-ever they play.

I see the game as a pick-em. Nick has quietly put together a great season, and knocked off Georgia in Atlanta. Michigan has run hot and cold all season long.

You work hard to get into games like this, so lets go. Win or lose, just lay it all out there. Lets light this candle.

[AlabamAlum]

Bama travels well. When we played Texas there in the BCS, it seemed 60/40, Bama. Should be a fun game.

[lineygoblue]

Well, at least it won't be a de-facto home game for the Tide like New Orleans would be. Play it in Cally where everybody has to travel.

I think Michigan will use its allotment of tickets as well.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Michigan has had a lot of success in Pasadena...

:::::runs:::::

[lineygoblue]

At least they've punched the ticket for the event.

Maybe with a little luck they can knock off The Nick.

Very tough opponent. They've done nothing but get better as the season has progressed.

Five years ago, nobody would have thought the last 3 seasons were possible.

[Jeff Buchanan]

What we have here so far is a bunch of WAGs. The Vegas line is not reflective of who will win, we all know this. All of us have gotten smart enough to know that you win at this level with spectacular line play - "cruel" dominance. I don't have access to PFF and I sure as heck would like to see those grades, for example, between M's tackles and DE's against Alabama's Interior linemen and OTs. Obviously, Milroe passes the eyeball test. He looks highly capable like a big Dennard but M faced Maryland's Taulia Tagovailoa and did OK. Tua, BTW, set the B10 record for passing yards in his last game, and kept him from running wild or hitting big plays over the top.

JH cannot afford to go into the Rose v. The Nick and not unleash JJ to his WRs slots and TEs. The offensive game plan should feature pass to run play calls and have an abundance of uniqueness that Alabama may not have seen. JJ, if given the green light, can't fuck it up. The OL has to keep him upright and give him a pocket to step into. Iowa's front 7 was consistently collapsing the pocket by stuffing it with LBs and a DB or two as soon as JJ showed PA. Crashing DE's made JJ's life very short and he constantly bailed. Then the paly was attacked by some of the fastest getting to the ball LB and S play I've seen this season. Too many good looking plays to start with, one's we've seen successfully run before, failed as a result of pursuit to the ball and excellent tackling by the Iowa D.

M's passing attack has been restrained in November to put it mildly and we don't know if this is just Harboffense conservatism, OL problems, JJ dealing with something or just very good pass defense by PSU, Maryland and OSU. What disturbed me v. Iowa was that as soon as it looked like the PA or any pass longer than 10y wasn't working, took to much time to develop or TEs dropping perfect passes, either because of OL or QB play, Moore abandoned them. Moore's default was power runs. Iowa's front seven were really good contributing to a great pass D but, M still won comfortably. I really wonder if Alabama's can be better than Iowa's.

[THE_WIZARD_]

Yer gonna have to play a lot better than you did vs. Baby Tua, PSU and Ferentz to beat Bammer...and even better than against Third Base Boy...

[AlabamAlum]

Milroe reminds me of a former Bama QB named Blake Sims. He’s a gamer.

[THE_WIZARD_]

He is a cross between Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes...and you know it...

[AlabamAlum]

He’s not a great passer. He waits for a receiver to complete his route, turn around, and throw his hands up before he throws the ball. He tries hard, though, and he’s a physical specimen.

[Jeff Buchanan]

What disturbed me v. Iowa was that as soon as it looked like the PA or any pass longer than 10y wasn't working, took to much time to develop or TEs dropping perfect passes, either because of OL or QB play, Moore abandoned them. Moore's default was power runs. Iowa's front seven were really good contributing to a great pass D but, M still won comfortably. I really wonder if Alabama's can be better than Iowa's

Just re-reading this from my post above, gives rise to the correct position that fans are arm-chair experts, after the fact, and TBH don't know shit. Maybe it's possible that the M sideline brain trust had planned a conservative game plan to start with and knowing, at the point in the game where I became "disturbed, they already knew they'd scored enough points to win. Risk and an offense that goes with it were shelved.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Here's some meaningful stats: Per SP+ (I don't have access. Just saw this elsewhere):

Michigan has played the #2, 3, 4, 8 defenses per SP+. Alabama is #9

#2 Iowa - 26 points

#3 OSU - 30 points

#4 PSU - 24 points

#8 Nebraska - 45 points

I don't know if this sort of stat is predictive - probably not. A post on Twitter featured a video that showed Harbaugh, players and family members, probably 100 or so folks, in a large room watching a big screen TV as the CFP Committee selections were announced. The video captured the moment when Alabama was announced as #4. There was an audible gasp and then applause. Comments filtered in by (I'm guessing) Alabama fans posting about how the gasp reflected M's fears of playing Alabama.

I think we're going to see a lot of this sort of sass from Alabama fans who are used to Alabama's football prowess and, subdued during the regular season, are reappearing with their chests all pumped out, having beaten UGA for the SEC crown, to claim their superiority. Further, that M is afraid of Alabama and that M will just be another embarrassingly quick exit from the last two CFPs after they are blown away by the Tide. ESPN, never a friend of ESPN, will amplify this. So, steel your spines for the onslaught of negative coverage of M's chances of advancing past Alabama. It's all good.