Opinion Roundtable: What Kind Of Alabama Team Is Michigan Going To Face?
Michigan is a 7-point underdog against Alabama in the VRBO Citrus Bowl but it might not be the Alabama team we've come to know.
We already know they aren't going to be at full strength with guys like Tua Tagovailoa and Dylan Moses out due to injury. Trevon Diggs and Terrell Lewis are also going to be missed as they skip the bowl game in order to prepare for the NFL Draft. With Alabama potentially missing several key contributors and U-M likely playing with a full deck, what does the outcome mean and what kind of Alabama team is Michigan really squaring off against?
Brandon Brown
I'm really curious to see who plays for Alabama and how they get after it. We already know that Bama is going to be without several key players but how much do the remaining players even care about this game? For the first time since the inception of the College Football Playoff, Alabama is not in the mix. These players don't even know what it means to play a postseason game that doesn't involve a chance at a national title.
It's weird because this game almost seems like lose-lose for both teams. Alabama is supposed to beat Michigan so if they do, great, things went according to plan. It's not really much of an accomplishment and the fact is that they didn't make the playoff. If they lose, that's a third loss on the season and one of their worst finishes in a decade. If Michigan wins, people will say it's only because of how depleted Alabama was. I'd still say it's a good win, gets U-M to 10 on the year and launches them into the offseason with some positive momentum, but still would have somewhat of an asterisk next to it. If Michigan loses, then it proves how far away from elite they are — they couldn't even beat an Alabama team playing with several of its best players in street clothes.
It sounds like Michigan is going to have all of its players available to they clearly want to win. Does Bama? We shall see...
Steve Deace
Michigan will be facing a formidable, but lesser, version of the team Alabama has been most of this season. This is still a very potent and powerful Crimson Tide offense even without Tua Tagovailoa, given all its skill talent and that imposing offensive line. However, while Mac Jones was a 4-star recruit and has good numbers, he's not the transcendent player Tua is. Don Brown has his hands full in this one. On the defensive side, this has not been a vintage Nick Saban unit. They've been vulnerable against power five opponents all season, and now Alabama will play without arguably its two best defensive players, who are sitting out.
As for what the outcome means for both programs, Alabama has nothing to gain or lose. They're a playoff or bust program, so if they lose it will just be excused as similar to when it lost as big favorites to Utah and Oklahoma in recent bowls. A meaningless game for such an elite program. That's also why they'll gain nothing by beating the Wolverines, because the narrative is Michigan doesn't show up against elite opponents anyway. On the Michigan side, if it loses it's just another shrimp on the barbie from a narrative standpoint and the world will just move on to the Rose Bowl coming up next. If the Wolverines were to somehow win, the local narrative and internal mood in the program would definitely be enhanced, but the national narrative would just be Alabama doesn't care.
There's really nothing Michigan can do to change the national perception of the program except beat Ohio State.
Michael Spath
I honestly don't know, and it's the million dollar question. I suspect that at least one or two more Tide players will follow Terrell Lewis' and Trevon Diggs' lead and sit out the game but until Alabama offensive players start announcing their intent to sit, I don't think it matters because this is a game that will be won with offense. Michigan simply has to do what it was trying to do against Ohio State - beat the Buckeyes to 45 points or so. The fact that quarterback Mac Jones is motivated to prove he can be the guy next year and wide receiver Jerry Jeudy is playing (and it looks like tailback Najee Harris and two projected first-round picks along the offensive line are), this game will be won or lost by Shea Patterson and Co. The good news is the Wolverines appear highly motivated, and that probably wasn't the case in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 bowls. That, more than Alabama's mindset and makeup, gives Michigan its best chance.
How do you see this game playing out? Is there a winning situation for either team? Comment below!!!
