College football’s two winningest programs will do battle with a spot in the national title on the line. It’s a clash so big that only one of the sport’s most iconic settings could play host. That’s exactly what we get when No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama meet up in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day.
What more can you reasonably ask in a high-stakes college football game? Well, how about the fact that both teams enter under some controversial circumstances. Michigan is 13-0, but coach Jim Harbaugh wasn’t on the sideline for six of those games due to two different three-game suspensions — one for recruiting violations and another for a sign-stealing scandal that captivated the nation for most of the season.
It was captivating until another controversy grabbed everyone’s attention, however. This one came on CFP Selection Sunday after Alabama received the No. 4 seed ahead of a 13-0 ACC champion: No. 5 Florida State. The one-loss Crimson Tide were riding the strength of beating No. 6 Georgia the day prior in the SEC Championship Game, while the Seminoles were penalized for limping to an ACC title without starting quarterback Jordan Travis.
Whether you’re a college football traditionalist or somebody who prefers chaos, there’s something for everybody here.
Michigan vs. Alabama: Need to know
No team has more CFP experience than Alabama: The Tide are making their eighth appearance in the College Football Playoff, which is two more than the next closest team (Clemson, which has six). The Rose Bowl marks Alabama’s 14th CFP game, which is four more than Clemson’s 10 contests. Alabama has won the CFP three times and reached the championship game six times. The only time it failed to win its semifinal was the first year of the CFP era…
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