GLENDALE, Ariz. — Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to its 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 as 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 Jan. 8 in Houston, but only after a late comeback and a dramatic finish.
Roman Wilson made a 4-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 J.J. McCarthy.
Corum needed only two snaps to score in the first overtime period.
Milroe found Jermaine Burton at the Michigan 3 on third-and-goal in OT, and Alabama turned to its quarterback on the final play call. But, Milroe ran into a waiting Michigan defense and was stopped 2 yards short of the goal line.
Jase McClellan rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns for Alabama (12-2), which fell short of the chance to play for Nick Saban’s seventh national title at the school. The Tide led 20-13 on Will Reichard’s 52-yard field goal with 4:41 to play, but their defense couldn’t preserve the lead.
McCarthy passed for 221 yards and three TDs for Michigan. Milroe passed for 116 yards and rushed for 63 for the Tide, whose 11-game winning streak ended.
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