Opinion: Michigan Football Players Of The Game In Win Over Alabama
Despite several uncharacteristic miscues from Michigan football on Monday night, the Wolverines defeated Alabama in the Rose Bowl and it turned out to be the game everyone wanted to see.
The maize and blue went down and tied the game up in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to send the game to overtime. Michigan got the ball first and Blake Corum scored a touchdown. Alabama took the ball inside Michigan's five-yard line, but Jalen Milroe was stuffed on fourth down and the Wolverines were the victors.
Here are my three offensive and three defensive players of the game.
Offense:
J.J. McCarthy:
Things didn't start off well for the junior. The very first pass of the game was an interception but got reversed when Caleb Downs was ruled out of bounds. McCarthy was a little off-target for most of the first half and even into the second half. But McCarthy came through when Michigan really needed him. He led the Wolverines down the field for a 75-yard touchdown drive with just over three minutes remaining.
His final stat line looked pretty solid against an Alabama defense as well. McCarthy went 17-of-27 for 221 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran the ball three times for 25 yards.
Blake Corum:
Not only is Corum now the all-time career touchdown leader at Michigan, but he came through in overtime when the Wolverines needed to punch in a touchdown. On the second play of OT, Corum took a 17-yard run into the end zone. The senior back was quite effective against the Crimson Tide on Monday. Corum rushed for 83 yards on 19 carries with a score. He also caught two passes for 35 yards and a score.
Roman Wilson:
Wilson had a horrible block in the back penalty that offset a huge Blake Corum gain, but the senior receiver made up for it -- shortly after. J.J. McCarthy threw a ball Wilson's way during the game-tying drive, the ball was tipped, and Wilson made a leaping grab to haul it in. A few plays later, Wilson caught a four-yard touchdown pass to tie the game.
Wilson had a game-high 73 yards receiving. He caught four passes along with a touchdown.
Defense:
Braiden McGregor:
It's hard to single out any Michigan defensive linemen because all of them were great. Jalen Milroe was sacked six times on Monday night, but two of those came from Braiden McGregor. He was arguably as good as he has been all season against the massive Alabama offensive line. McGregor had a huge motor and wreaked havoc in the backfield. He finished with two tackles, two sacks, and two TFLs.
Michael Barrett:
Junior Colson's 10 tackles slightly overshadowed Barrett, but Barrett was right behind him with nine tackles on Monday. The graduate linebacker had another big game for the Wolverines and continues to show why he's one of the best players on the defense. He got in on the sack party by registering a sack on Milroe and he also forced a TFL.
Mason Graham:
Both Kenneth Grant and Kris Jenkins were sensational against Alabama, but Mason Graham had a few key stops. None bigger than the final play of the game when Milroe took a run right at Graham -- stuffed. Graham, along with a few other Wolverines, were right there and didn't allow Milroe to sniff the end zone for a potential second overtime. The sophomore had four tackles and a TFL against the Crimson Tide.
