Michigan's the top seed in college football national championship playoff

It's been a turbulent season for the Michigan Wolverines. But now they're headed for the national college football championship playoff.

The College Football Playoff selection committee picked Michigan as the number one seed in the four-team playoff. The other three schools in the playoff are the University of Washington, the University of Texas and the University of Alabama.

The Wolverines will play the Alabama Crimson Tide at the Rose Bowl on January 1 in the national semi-final. The Wolverines will be playing in their 21st Rose Bowl, more than any school except USC, but Michigan hasn't been to the Granddaddy of Them All since 2007.

The Crimson Tide played in the COVID-19 version of the Granddaddy just three years ago, routing Notre Dame 31-14 in a CFP semifinal “Rose Bowl” game played in Arlington, Texas, because of California's safety restrictions.

Alabama's previous Rose Bowl Game appearance was in 1946, although head coach Nick Saban's Crimson Tide also won the national championship at the Rose Bowl in January 2010 when they beat Texas in the BCS title game.

Big Ten champion Michigan is making its third straight appearance in the College Football Playoff, but is still looking for its first playoff victory.

The winner of the Michigan-Alabama matchup will play for the national championship a week later in Houston, Texas.

Michigan opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite against Alabama and is the early betting favorite to win the national championship.

It’s not surprising the Wolverines have landed in the playoffs, given the team’s undefeated season, capped with Saturday’s dominating win in the Big Ten championship on Saturday against Iowa.

But Michigan has faced many off-field distractions. The program has been accused of sign stealing and remains under NCAA investigation. And head coach Jim Harbaugh has watched nearly half this season’s games on TV, as he served two-three game suspensions.