Opening betting line for CFP’s Alabama-Michigan in Rose Bowl released

The College Football Playoff pairings were released Sunday, and No. 1 Michigan will face No. 4 Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, in Pasadena. Michigan has been posted as a -1.5 favorite against Alabama, via BetMGM.

The CFP committee decided on Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide (12-1), which defeated Georgia 27-24 on Saturday for the SEC championship over undefeated ACC champion Florida State. The decision, of course, caused a nation-wide debate as the college football-watching world debated.

The 110th edition of the Rose Bowl Game should be a good one.

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. Michigan’s fans hope the Rose Bowl berth is the penultimate step in a tumultuous season featuring incredible play, but also two suspensions for Harbaugh. The Wolverines haven’t faltered amid the chaos, even ascending to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time in 26 seasons earlier Sunday after shutting out Iowa in the Big Ten championship game.

Michigan is in the CFP for third time, looking for its first victory. The Wolverines are two wins away from their first national title since 1997.

Alabama, meanwhile, returns to the CFP and earned its eighth appearance in the Rose Bowl by ending the Bulldogs’ 29-game winning streak.

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 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.