The Michigan Wolverines took down the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Rose Bowl on Monday, 27–20, in overtime to punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff national championship.
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00:00 Michigan is heading to the national championship after a 27 to 20 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
00:05 Claudette Montana, Bridget Johnson here, postgame at the Rose Bowl.
00:09 And let's start off by talking about Michigan's offense tonight.
00:12 It was a little bit of a slow game, but really things picked up in the end there.
00:16 Blake Corham with the game winning touchdown.
00:18 What can you say about how the offense executed in the final stretch?
00:21 Well, we were upstairs probably like third quarter.
00:23 You looked at me and you said, it's going to get spicy in the fourth quarter.
00:26 And you were right.
00:27 It got real spicy in the fourth quarter.
00:28 Obviously, Alabama goes up 20 to 13.
00:31 You know, it's one of those things where you're like, man, the momentum is really on Alabama's
00:34 side.
00:34 Michigan misses a field goal.
00:35 You're like, you don't really like how this is going.
00:38 But credit to Michigan, credit to J.J. McCarthy, credit to them in their third time in this
00:42 semifinal game for finally paying it off.
00:44 They've been so close.
00:45 They've lost in two different ways, but they didn't let this one get away.
00:49 And I think that is so important for a team that has talked about facing so much adversity
00:53 this season and overcoming that external forces, all the stuff that's happening with Harbaugh,
00:57 the suspension, all that stuff.
00:59 But they rose above today in this game.
01:01 And it's really cool to see a team like Michigan win it their way, right?
01:05 They win it with their defense on the field last, tackling Jalen Milrow right before the
01:10 goal line and winning the game.
01:12 And let's talk about their defense.
01:13 They had a lot of big stops tonight, but especially at the end of the game on fourth and third,
01:16 which sealed the game.
01:17 Six sacks on Jalen Milrow.
01:19 What can you say about the way they performed tonight?
01:21 Yeah, it wasn't even so much that they were physically dominating Alabama.
01:24 They were just confusing Alabama in pass protection all night.
01:26 I mean, the stunts, the twist, the loops, they really played well up front.
01:30 And Jim Harbaugh kind of said here after the game, he was like, I knew we'd win the game
01:34 up front.
01:35 And that's exactly what they did.
01:36 So Michigan's going to take on the winner of the Sugar Bowl, Washington or Texas.
01:40 What adjustments do you think this team needs to make before the national championship in
01:44 Houston?
01:44 Well, you know, it depends on who they get.
01:46 If they get Washington, obviously you're going to get a team in Washington that's going to
01:48 try to dam the torpedoes, throw the ball deep with their three really, really good receivers
01:53 and try to score like that.
01:54 If you get Texas, for me, my question is, can Michigan run the ball in Texas?
01:58 Because Texas is about as good up front on defense, stopping the run as any team in the
02:02 country.
02:03 So two distinct challenges for two distinct opponents in a potential national championship
02:07 game.
02:07 All right.
02:07 Well, Michigan looking for their first national championship win since 1997.
02:11 We'll see if they can get it.
02:12 Marjorie, thanks so much.