College Football Playoff: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Michigan Wolverines Betting Preview
In the first of two College Football Playoff games, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines will meet up at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena California. The Crimson Tide come into the game with a 12-1 record on the season. Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC title game to get to this final game. The Crimson Tide lone loss this season came in Week 2 to the Texas Longhorns.
For Michigan, they are 13-0 on the season. After winning the Big Ten East, the Wolverines beat Iowa in the Big Ten title game. Michigan is a 1.5 point favorite in this game on Monday.
Milroe and the Crimson Tide
Jalen Milroe got off to a slow start for the Crimson Tide, and almost lost his role as the starting quarterback after Week 3. That game was a 17-3 ugly mess. But after wins over Ole Miss, and on the road at Mississippi State and Texas A+M, they got back to business. Milroe finished the season with 2,718 yards passing and 23 touchdowns.
His top target was Jermaine Burton with 35 receptions, 777 yards and 8 touchdowns. The Crimson Tide as a team scored 34.9 points per game. The run game for the Crimson Tide has been led by Jase McClellan all season. He ran the football 166 times for 803 yards and 6 touchdowns.
On the defensive side, the Crimson Tide allowed just over 18 points per game. Ever since their loss to Texas, they have not allowed 30+ in a game since.
Michigan Wants to Play Wolverine Style
Coach Harbaugh and his Maize and Blue are looking for their 14th straight this season. The Wolverines were smacked around by TCU in the College Football playoff a season ago. The Wolverines will look to win this game, like they do every game with taking care of the football, pounding it on the ground, and playing excellent defense.
Blake Corum is one of the top running backs in all of College Football. Corum rushed for 24 touchdowns on the season. Quarterback JJ McCarthy was very accurate all season with 19 touchdowns and 4 touchdowns. His top target was Roman Wilson, who finished the season with 11 touchdowns.
The top defense in the country was the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines allowed just 9.5 points per game. Even at that, a ton of those points were scored in back to back games where they allowed 24 to Maryland and Ohio State.
Wolverines Beat Crimson Tide to Move to Title
The Michigan Wolverines are going to want to pound the football on the ground, play good defense and let the clock run. Alabama will look to toss the ball around the field a little more. Both coaches with a month of more to prepare will have their team ready.
Michigan saw the big stage a season ago, and got smoked early. Look for them to come out much better this time, and get ahead. Once they get ahead, they stay ahead, and win this game on Monday. Our final bet for this game is the Michigan Wolverines -1.5 over the Alabama Crimson Tide.
