Michigan Vs. Alabama: Who Has The Advantage At Each Offensive Position?
By Anthony Broome
The Michigan Wolverines and Alabama Crimson Tide face off on Jan. 1 with a trip to the national championship game on the line. The Rose Bowl will feature a ton of elite matchups all over the field, but today we take a look at how each team’s position group stacks up against each other on offense.
Here is a look at who has the advantage in each area between Michigan and Alabama on the offensive side of the ball.
RELATED: Previewing Michigan vs. Alabama with a Crimson Tide insider
Quarterback
The talk of Rose Bowl prep has been Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, a guy who physically resembles a familiar face in U-M’s Alex Orji at 6-2, 220 pounds and has that same running ability. The difference is that Milroe is far more polished as a passer and is a big play waiting to happen. But a lot of what he and the Alabama passing game do is feast or famine predicated on how effective he is on the ground.
Michigan has a battle-tested and versatile, experienced quarterback in J.J. McCarthy. He has shown that if the game allows, he can throw for 300 yards. He is also content to sit back and let Michigan’s run game take over. Whatever the team needs from him, he typically delivers and does it efficiently. Assuming good health and a dynamic game plan, we’re going with the player that many NFL scouts believe has a chance to be a first-rounder as early as this spring.
Advantage: Michigan
Running backs
Alabama’s Jase McLellan and Roydell Williams are a solid 1-2 punch that has combined for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, both averaging around 5 yards per rush. Michigan’s Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards have combined for 1,410 yards and 27 touchdowns between the two of them, with Corum having the bulk of the production. Corum on the season has 1,028 yards and a U-M record 24 rushing scores.
It does not feel like a hot take to say that the duo that has the better day will win the Rose Bowl, but it does feel like Michigan has an advantage here with a proven bell cow in Corum that they are not afraid to lean on. Throw in a Kalel Mullings for good measure, and it feels like the Wolverines come into this game with a deeper set of backs.
Advantage: Michigan
Wide receivers
Alabama wideouts Jermaine Burton and Isaiah Bond are two quality wideouts known for their speed, and the big play threat is going to put some stress on the Michigan defense. However, neither has put up eye-popping numbers. Burton enters the game as Bama’s leading yardage guy with 35 catches for 777 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Bond leads the team in catches with 44 for 621 yards and 4 scores. The production down the stretch seems to suggest that Bond and Milroe’s connection might be the one to watch in the Rose Bowl.
Michigan is extremely similar in its wideout production with Roman Wilson and Cornelius Johnson combining for 83 catches for 1,229 yards on the year. Wilson leads the team with 11 receiving scores and has been a go-to target in scoring situations for McCarthy. Neither team has an entrenched third wide receiver, but Michigan’s Semaj Morgan and Alabama’s Kobe Prentice both have 17 catches on the year.
This one feels like a wash that could go in either direction depending on your rooting interests. We will give a slight nod to Alabama for its speed.
Advantage: Alabama
Tight ends
For as much as the wideout conversation might be a wash, this one is pretty lopsided in favor of the Wolverines. The tight ends on Alabama’s roster have combined for 32 receptions as a position group on the year, while U-M’s Colston Loveland has 40 receptions, 572 yards and 4 touchdowns on his own. Then you throw in AJ Barner, who finished the regular season with 22 grabs for 249 yards and a touchdown.
With a month to prepare, there could always be some wrinkles thrown in from the Alabama offense, but their leading receiver at tight end is Amari Niblack, who has 17 grabs for 321 yards and 4 touchdowns on the year. He certainly is an outlier to watch, but Michigan has the advantage between these two groups on paper.
Advantage: Michigan
Offensive line
The Alabama offensive line got off to an incredibly tough start to the year, allowing 35 sacks in the first eight weeks of the season. But over the year, it got better and went through a stretch in November where it allowed only 4 total sacks as a group. The Crimson Tide are big and physical and will be a load for the Michigan defensive line. However, they did revert back to some early-season troubles by allowing 4 sacks against Georgia in the SEC title game.
Michigan’s offensive line is a tick or two below the Joe Moore Award-winning standard it had set the last two years, and pass protection has been a question mark at tackle all season. Add in the fact that Zak Zinter is unavailable, and it does create a situation where you are less confident about how they’d hold up in a trench war. Still, this is a close call between both lines, and we think that Michigan is a little stronger up the middle than Bama, even without Zinter. But Alabama’s tackles might be what gives it the advantage here. It’s a toss-up.
Advantage: Alabama
