Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to their first College Football Playoff championship game with a 27-20 victory over fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday.
Michigan’s defense ended only the second overtime game in the 110 editions of the Rose Bowl when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was emphatically stopped for no gain when he attempted to sneak up the middle on fourth down from the Michigan 3.
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines (14-0) will play for their school’s first national title since 1997 against Washington or Texas on 8 January in Houston, but only after a late comeback and a hair-raising finish to the Granddaddy of Them All.
Roman Wilson made a four-yard TD catch with 1:34 left in regulation for the Wolverines, who hadn’t scored in the second half until that gritty 75-yard drive led by JJ McCarthy.
Corum then needed only two snaps to score in the first overtime period, breaking tackles and spinning wildly on his second carry into the end zone.
Milroe connected with Jermaine Burton at the Michigan 3 on third-and-goal in overtime, and Alabama leaned on its quarterback’s athleticism on the final play call – but Milroe ran straight into a Michigan defense that was waiting for him.
