The Rose Bowl will host a College Football Playoff semifinal game between two of the nation’s top conferences and teams. The Big Ten champion Michigan Wolverines will face the SEC champion Alabama Crimson Tide.
On Monday, December 11, former Michigan Wolverine Taylor Lewan made a bold prediction on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Michigan should win by double digits.”
However, the statistics do not support the lineman’s claim. According to Matt Connolly of ON3, Michigan is currently favored by 1.5 points in the game.
Lewan believes Michigan will blow that figure out of the water.
“I watched a lot of Alabama Crimson Tide film over the weekend.” To me, Michigan is the superior team, with superior coaching. “It’s no longer the 2010s,” the former Tennessee Titan wrote.
Lewan is referring to the fact that Alabama has been crowned college football champion five times between 2010 and 2020, with three of those victories coming since the College Football Playoff was established.
Michigan, on the other hand, has won no championships in the last 14 years and has only been to the College Football Playoff twice, both times being eliminated in the semifinals.
From 2010 to 2013, Lewan was a four-year starter at Michigan. During his time with the Wolverines, they went 33-19 but failed to win the Big Ten championship.
Paul Finebaum is skeptical of the Michigan Wolverines.
According to Connolly, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has chosen Alabama over Michigan, which comes as no surprise. Finebaum, a Tennessee graduate, is a fervent supporter of the SEC.
According to Connolly, Finebaum appeared on “McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning” and stated, “I definitely like Alabama in the game against Michigan.”
One of the most notable contrasts will be Nick Saban vs. Jim Harbaugh. According to ESPN’s Sam Block, if Harbaugh loses to Alabama, he will have won “seven national championships” (six with the Tide).
“The Rose Bowl is likely going to be as good as advertised considering the quality and caliber of both programs and rosters,” Connolly said in a statement. Between the two playoff matchups, this game is likely to take center stage.
Michigan and Alabama Took Differing Routes to CFP
Michigan began the season ranked second in the country and rolled through their schedule. They didn’t face a ranked opponent until Week 9 of the season, when they defeated Penn State 24-15.
Michigan also had to deal with the Big Ten suspending Jim Harbaugh for three games.
The Wolverines fell to third place after narrowly defeating an unranked Maryland team and falling behind rival Ohio State. They quickly responded by defeating rival No. 2 Ohio State 30-24 and knocking the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff race.
Alabama, on the other hand, began at No. 4 and quickly fell into a hole. They fell to No. 10 after a loss to the Texas Longhorns early in the season. The Crimson Tide, on the other hand, did not lose another game the rest of the season.
According to ESPN’s preview, “Michigan moved up to the No. 1 spot in the rankings after beating Iowa in the Big Ten championship game.”
However, it was a little more contentious for Alabama, as the committee chose to place the 12-1 Alabama team at No. 4 over the 13-0 ACC conference champion Florida State University.
“The Crimson Tide offense looks much improved since the beginning of the season, and credit quarterback Jalen Milroe with leading the way,” according to ESPN.
“That offense, however, will have its hands full with Michigan’s defense, which ranks near the top of most major categories,” a report from ESPN said.
According to ESPN, this will be Michigan’s “toughest test.”
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