ALABAMA’S 2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP BID COMES TO A HALT AFTER LOSING 27-20 IN THE ROSE BOWL

PASADENA, California: After a remarkable 12-1 and SEC Championship season, the Alabama Crimson Tide’s run at a 19th National Championship comes to a close. Alabama takes the Michigan Wolverines to overtime of the College Football Playoff Semifinal Rose Bowl game, but can’t find the end zone on 4th and 3 giving way to a  27-20 Wolverine victory.

This loss marks only the second time the Crimson Tide has lost a semifinal CFP game. The other came to Ohio State in 2014. The Crimson Tide are 6-2 in CFP semifinal games and 3-2 in CFP National Championship games.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban was disheartened by the performance of his team, staff, and himself after the game.

“We’re very disappointed about the outcome of the game,” Saban said. “We just didn’t finish the last four minutes of the game like we’d like to. I’m disappointed and the players are disappointed.”

Saban was disappointed by the Crimson Tide defense giving up a late touchdown to the Wolverines but also because of the Alabama’s offensive inability to score with more than two minutes on the clock to avoid overtime.

Not only was that disappointing, but Alabama was outplayed in overtime. Michigan scored a touchdown on two running plays while holding Alabama scoreless.

The final play came down to a 4th and 3 where quarterback Jalen Milroe ran the ball up the middle for no gain. This play call is being scrutinized across the nation but Saban and Milroe offered explanations.

“We called three plays,” Saban said. “One they called time-out, one we called time-out and the last one that didn’t work. The fact that it didn’t work made it a really bad call. But, Tommy (Rees) just felt like the best thing that we could do was a quarterback run.”

“With anything, all it came down to was to fall back to your level of training and we just failed on that play,” Milroe said.

It was a back and forth game for both blue blood programs who were fighting for a spot in the CFP National Championship game on Jan. 8.

This year’s Rose Bowl was a defensive struggle with little offensive success in the first three quarters of play. In the first three quarters, Alabama punted six times with five of those six drives ending in three-and-outs. Michigan punted five times in that same span.

Alabama was held to 116 yards passing, the lowest amount of passing yards in a game this season for the Crimson Tide while they were fairly successful running the ball. The Crimson Tide ran for 172 yards on 43 carries, averaging four yards per carry.

Michigan’s defense was suffocating, making it hard for Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe to find any success throwing the ball while constantly providing pressure to the Alabama offensive line. Milroe was sacked five times in the first half and once more in the second half.

Alabama turned the ball over once, when Jalen Milroe was stripped in the fourth quarter leading to a Wolverine recovery on the Alabama side of the field.

Alabama’s defensive plan, differed from that of the Wolverines. Alabama only sacked Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy once and forced one fumble leading to a Crimson Tide recovery in plus territory.

The Crimson Tide defense kept the Michigan offense in front of them in an effort to stifle explosive plays. This plan was mostly effective until Michigan wide receiver Dylan Morris took a McCarthy pass 38 yards to the end zone for a Wolverine touchdown in the second quarter. This marked the longest offensive play of the game for either team.

On the flip side, the Alabama offense could never find their rhythm in the pass game despite some success in the run game.

Alabama running back Jase McClellan found the end zone twice, first from 34 yards out (longest Crimson Tide play of the game) in the first quarter and second from three yards out in the fourth quarter. McClellan finished the day with 14 carries for 87 yards.

Freshman Justice Haynes brought a spark to the offense in the second half carrying the ball four times for 31 yards.

Milroe was also a heavy factor in the Alabama rushing attack. He carried the ball a team leading 21 times for 63 yards. Milroe also finished the day completing 16-23 passes for 116 yards.

Although Milroe struggled at times and didn’t have his best game, he and his teammates can learn a lot of lessons from this loss.

“We have a lot of things to be proud of from this season,” Milroe said. “We could’ve easily lingered on past mistakes, could’ve easily went in the tank when things weren’t good, but the biggest thing was we continued to improve.”

The Wolverine offense found success in both areas of offense. McCarthy was not only an effective passer, but also an effective rusher on third down. McCarthy completed 17-27 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. He carried the ball 3 times for 25 yards.

Michigan running back Blake Corum was the bell cow for the offense finishing with 19 carries for 83 yards and the go-ahead rushing touchdown in overtime to eventually give the Wolverines a victory. Corum added a receiving touchdown in the first quarter as well.

Wide receiver Roman Wilson led the Wolverines in receiving with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.

On special teams, Alabama kicker Will Reichard made a 50-yard field goal in the second quarter and a 52-yard field goal in the fourth quarter while also knocking through both extra point attempts.

Saban was thrilled with the special teams performance even after losing.

“I think special teams did a good job tonight,” Saban said. “Will (Reichard) made some huge kicks, which put us in a great position to have a chance to be successful at the end of the game.”

Despite the loss, Saban was uplifted by his players spirits, hard work and determination throughout the season to constantly get better.

“This is one of the most amazing seasons in Alabama football history in terms of where this team came from,” Saban said. “What they were able to do and accomplish, winning the SEC Championship; I’m just really proud of this group.”

Reichard is one of the many Crimson Tide seniors who played in their final collegiate game. Many Alabama seniors such as Reichard, Justin Eboigbe, and Jaylen Key have no remaining eligibility and cannot return next season.

Many other players on the team have high NFL value and could leave early for the 2024 NFL Draft. Others who aren’t happy with their current situation on the team can enter the transfer portal and seek success elsewhere.

Regardless, Alabama coach Nick Saban signed the second-best recruiting class in the 2024 cycle while the transfer portal window remains open.

With the introduction of the 12-team CFP next season, the Crimson Tide’s chances of making the playoff should only increase.

Changes to the roster and possibly the coaching staff will occur in the coming days and months, but one thing’s for certain, the Crimson Tide will remain a perennial National Championship contender and one of the premier programs in College Football.