Michigan outlasts Alabama in OT to reach the national title game

It’s been nine years in the making, but Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines will finally stand on college football’s biggest stage.

After a tough Rose Bowl battle ended without a regular-season winner, Michigan running back Blake Corum scored the winning touchdown in overtime, rushing 17 yards for the 27-20 win and the right to appear in the College Football Playoff -championship. After winning the first CFP game, Michigan will meet the winner of Washington-Texas on Jan. 8 for the national title.

Alabama was down 20th with 1:34 to go in regulation but couldn’t get past its own 43-yard line and James Burnip kicked it back to Michigan on a monstrous 51-yard punt that, after a fumble and recovery in Michigan, the Wolverines on their own 1-yard line. Michigan took a knee to send the game to overtime.

For Michigan, quarterback JJ McCarthy completed 17 of 27 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Corum added 83 yards and the game-winning touchdown on the ground, matching an earlier receiving score. Three different receivers posted points for Michigan that day.

Alabama running back Jase McClellan led the charge with both of the Tide’s lone touchdowns. Quarterback Jalen Milroe added 116 yards on 16 of 23 passing and 63 yards on the ground.

With the win, the Wolverines improve to 2-6 in bowl appearances under Harbaugh and are left out of Alabama alone in the fourth national title game of the modern CFP era. This is only the second time since 2005 that an SEC school has not participated in the championship.

Alabama coach Nick Saban said, “This is one of the teams I will always remember the most and be most proud of” after Alabama was largely discounted as a CFP candidate following its Week 2 loss to Texas and the benching of Milroe in Week 3. “This team has probably improved from the (USF) game and the Texas game early in the season as much as any team I’ve ever coached,” Saban said.

In the first half, Michigan got to Milroe with ease, limiting him to 53 yards and sacking him five times. According to the ESPN broadcast, the five sacks were the most an Alabama quarterback had in a half under coach Saban. The Wolverines held a 13-10 halftime lead after missing the extra point attempt following their second touchdown, a point that would have put them at 21-20 with a minute and a half to play and the game essentially in regulation rules had ended. On the way to the matchup, Michigan had won 28 straight games at halftime, the second-longest active streak in the FBS behind Georgia (39), according to ESPN Stats & Info.

McClellan opened the scoring with a 34-yard TD run minutes into the first quarter to take the game’s first lead. Michigan responded with 13 straight points until Will Reichard scored a 50-yard field goal to bring the Crimson Tide within three of the half.

Alabama’s special teams unit, headlined by Reichard and Burnip, dazzled the entire game. Reichard hit two field goals over 50, collecting eight points, and Burnip racked up 352 yards on seven punts with a long of 62.

How did Michigan prevail?

Michigan’s playmakers made plays when it counted. From Corum’s reception on fourth-and-2 to Roman Wilson’s touchdown catch to tie the score with Corum’s TD in overtime, the Wolverines’ best players finally came through. Many of these players were part of the CFP losses to TCU and Georgia and had to live with the disappointment of falling short on this stage. Corum injured his knee last November and did not play in the Fiesta Bowl. For all these reasons, this was a redemptive win for Michigan.

Don’t forget Michigan’s defense, which made things difficult for Milroe all night. The final score, a fourth-and-goal stop from three, will go down as one of the greatest plays in Michigan history. — Austin Meek, Michigan defeated writer

Old Alabama warts reappear in the biggest game of the season

Monday night’s game was very similar to an Alabama game from early September, marked by poor snapping issues and inconsistent offensive line play that halted any forward momentum. Milroe was sacked on four of his first six dropback attempts. Overall, Michigan recorded six sacks and nine tackles for loss, dominating Alabama’s offensive line for long stretches of the game.

It was a particularly tough game for center Seth McLaughlin, who had several bad snaps, some of which resulted in double-digit yardage losses as the ball raced past Milroe, and an additional false start penalty. On the opening drive of the second half, Alabama appeared to be gaining momentum, but two consecutive bad snaps derailed the drive, resulting in a punt. It was a reminder that Alabama’s problems weren’t entirely in the rearview mirror. — Kennington Smith III, Alabama defeated writer

A heartbreaking ending in Alabama

Michigan answered quickly and definitively to start overtime – two Corum runs covering all 25 yards and the touchdown. Alabama’s possession was much more dramatic: negative play followed by positive and a continuous cycle culminating in a fourth-and-goal from the Michigan 3-yard line to decide the game. Each team called a timeout for the final play, attempting to increase the other’s formation to gain an advantage. Alabama put the ball in Milroe’s hands, but a quarterback keeper was stuffed and Michigan had the upper hand.

A heartbreaking end to a miraculous Alabama playoff. In a matchup of two powerhouses, it was Michigan’s night. — Smith

Crucial special teams plays

Michigan’s only turnover, a muffed punt early in the first quarter, gave Alabama its only touchdown of the first half. Aside from turnover margin (-1), Michigan dominated every statistical category in the first half, but that wasn’t the only blunder that cost the Wolverines points. Midway through the second quarter, Michigan took a 13-7 lead and appeared to have the momentum on its side, but missed the extra point putting them at a situational disadvantage for the remainder of the game.

In the fourth quarter, with Alabama leading 17-13, a Milroe fumble gave Michigan a chance to score, with the drive starting near midfield. However, the Wolverines missed a 49-yard field goal attempt. Alabama bled several minutes off the clock on the next drive, which helped put the game away. In the final momentum shift before overtime, Michigan muffed another punt inside its five-yard line, ending any hopes of a game-winning drive in regulation, forcing the game into overtime.

Conversely, Alabama made field goals of 50 yards and 52 yards, averaged more than 50 yards per punt and recovered a punt that hit an Alabama player who was blocking a return — the insertion of Caleb Downs as a punt returner was most felt Monday night. — Smith

Required reading

(Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)