Keys To The Game: Michigan Wolverines Vs. Alabama

By Chris Balas

Michigan will take on Alabama in the Rose Bowl, a College Football Playoff semifinal game, Jan. 1 with everything riding on the outcome. The Wolverines need a win to advance to the final in Houston Jan. 8, and they’re approaching it like it’s all or nothing for season success.

RELATED: Staff Predictions: Michigan football vs. Alabama in the Rose Bowl
RELATED: Tuesday Thoughts/intel: No Michigan contract signed, but that’s not Jim Harbaugh’s focus

“With the guys that we have, when we got back together, particularly as a defense and as a team, a lot of these guys, this is what they came back for,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said, alluding to last year’s failure in a Fiesta Bowl loss to TCU. “Yes, 13-0 is fantastic. Nobody has ever won three straight outright Big Ten Championships like this group has, like Coach [Jim Harbaugh] has. But, at the same time, the group has been driven to get to this moment.”

And now the SEC champion Crimson Tide are waiting for them to try to deny them for a third straight year. Here are three Michigan keys to success against head coach Nick Saban and his crew:

Michigan Key No. 1: Stop the run — and quarterback Jalen Milroe

Teams have taken different approaches to slowing the improving Alabama signal-caller. Georgia put a spy or two on him so he couldn’t hurt them with his feet on scramble plays, the biggest area in which he’s had success with his feet this year. But he can also move the ball on the ground on designed run plays, and there have been a few games this year in which he’s eclipsed 100 on the ground and been the Tide’s leading rusher. The Michigan defensive line is better equipped than many in years past to deal with it — that’s been the difference in games like these in the past, including versus Georgia two years ago — but they’ve got to get Milroe on the ground when they get to him in the pass rush, too, and not let him escape the pocket.

Minter and Co. would like to create down-and-distance situations in which they can throw different defensive looks at Milroe and try to confuse him. The Michigan defensive backfield has been outstanding in those situations this year. But it starts with the front seven being able to get them into those second- and third-and-long situations. Sophomore tackles Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham need big games, as do the Michigan inside linebackers.

Michigan Key No. 2: Break tendency on offense

Alabama will be the most athletic and overall talented team Michigan has faced this year, including Ohio State, and Grant and others have said as much after watching film. The Wolverines have been solid on the ground in some big games, but not great — certainly not as good as in past years. While it’s cliche, the same old, same old probably isn’t going to get it done against a very good Crimson Tide defense that has had a month to prepare. They’ve got the personnel to man up the Michigan receivers and bring a safety (an elite one, at that) closer to the line to combat the run game, so it’s up to the Wolverines to surprise them with some things they haven’t seen on film.

Harbaugh and Co. have done that in the past, particularly against Ohio State the last three years. There’s no reason to keep anything close to the vest in this one. Auburn caught the Tide off guard and kept them off balance and should have pulled the upset despite having next to no passing game in a last-second loss — they used quarterback Payton Thorne and his legs a bit, something U-M could and should be able to do with junior J.J. McCarthy.

“Our staff has done a great job when we’re out on the road being able to [self scout],” Michigan offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore said. “When I came back, even when I was out, I was doing that. We spent a good bit of time doing that, and we have a good feel for where we’re at formationally, play-wise, pass-run-wise. I feel really good with where we’re at.”

Here’s hoping. Game plan is going to be critical in this one.

Michigan Key No. 3: Best game of the year for the offensive tackles

Penn State edge Chop Robinson was such a disruptive force early against Michigan tackle Karsen Barnhart that U-M was forced to change its entire game plan after only a couple series. Alabama has two edge rushers capable of creating havoc like that, and the U-M tackles have fared pretty badly against much worse.

Barnhart has been slowed by injury this year, but none of the tackles — him, LaDarius Henderson, or Myles Hinton — have been “good” in pass protection this year. Everyone wants the Wolverines to “open up” the offense, but that’s only doable if they can keep their quarterback clean. That starts with the guys up front on the edges. We’d love to see a game plan designed to use the Alabama defense’s aggressiveness against them at times, too, to back them off a bit.

The breakdown: Michigan football vs. Alabama

This isn’t one of Saban’s best Alabama teams in his tenure, but it’s got as good a chance as anyone to win it all. They’ve been here before, have outstanding athletes at all positions, are deep, and they’re extremely well-coached. This is the fastest and most physical team Michigan will have faced this year, Minter acknowledged, and the Wolverines are going to have to play a clean game to beat them.

On paper, this appears to be a tough matchup for the Michigan offense, especially without All-American senior guard Zak Zinter (out with a broken leg). The offensive line needs to be better than it has been most of the year if U-M is going to move the ball consistently. It wouldn’t surprise to see Saban and Co. try to take the Michigan strength — the tight ends — out of the game as much as possible, too, so it will be up to the receivers to make some plays against an outstanding Alabama secondary.

This is a winnable game, and it’s past time the Wolverines bring their best in a postseason effort.