Rose Bowl 2024: Updated Odds and Comments for Alabama vs. Michigan
The Rose Bowl is projected to be the closer of the two College Football Playoff semifinals.
The Michigan Wolverines are only a slight favorite over the Alabama Crimson Tide with 10 days to go until the No. 1-versus-No. 4 matchup.
Michigan was the better team across the entirety of the 2023 college football season, and it recorded a perfect record despite not having Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines for a handful of games.
Alabama peaked late in the season and used a win over then-top-ranked Georgia in the SEC Championship Game to confirm its return to the playoff.
Nick Saban knows exactly how to prepare his team for a high-profile clash, like the Rose Bowl, and he does not seem to be concerned about anything Michigan was accused of in its sign-stealing scandal.
Updated Odds
Spread: Michigan (-1.5)
Over/Under: 44.5
Money Line: Michigan (-122; bet $122 to win $100), Alabama (+102; bet $100 to win $102)the W
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Of course Saban was asked about Michigan's sign-stealing scandal in the buildup to the Rose Bowl.
The long-time Alabama head coach did not seem concerned with anything the Wolverines have been accused of carrying over into the New Years' Day matchup.
"Not really," Saban said, per On3. "We always change things up a little bit. We're focused on what we have to do to try to get good execution. We're not really concerned about any of that stuff."
Saban went on to talk about college football implementing helmet communication, which would avoid future scandals, like the one Michigan was embroiled in all season.
"I do think the helmet communicator is probably a real powerful thing for the game," Saban said back in October. "Everybody should — you can't steal signs or do any of this stuff if you have a helmet communicator and I think it's, I think it would be a good thing.
"It's worked out well in the NFL and I also think it's good to have one guy on defense that you could tell that guy what the call is without having to go through all this signaling process."
Saban himself stirred up a bit of drama when he brought on former Michigan linebackers coach George Helow to his staff to help prepare for the Rose Bowl.
Wolverines linebacker Junior Colson does not think that will make too much of a difference on the field, though, per Wolverines Wire.
"You can't really have an advantage in football," Colson said. "It doesn't matter if you know somebody's whole playbook, you've still gotta stop it. So you can't really have an advantage in football. You've gotta go out there, play ball, and let the dice roll how it rolls."
Regardless of who is on which staff at the Rose Bowl, Michigan needs a strong performance out of quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
A handful of anonymous Big Ten coaches offered insight to The Athletic's Bruce Feldman on what McCarthy has to do to be successful against Alabama.
"I do think J.J. is very talented," said one of the head coaches. "If he's healthy, they're gonna have to let him run more. When you can run like that, it puts so much pressure on your defense."
"That's the biggest thing he adds — it's the unscripted scrambles," a Big Ten defensive coordinator said. "If everything's covered, he can get the first down and move the chains for them."
McCarthy does not have incredible passing numbers, like the other three quarterbacks in the playoff, but he does have playoff experience and that could play a big role in getting Michigan to a win.
The Wolverines will follow their run-first game plan behind Blake Corum, and if that succeeds, it will keep Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense off the field and potentially create a large gap on the scoreboard for the top-ranked team in the CFB Playoff rankings.
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