Should Texas fans root for Alabama or Michigan in the Rose Bowl?
The Texas Longhorns are focused on their College Football Playoff semifinal matchup with the Washington Huskies at the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day 2024. However, just a few hours before that game kicks off, the first spot in the national championship game will be taking place at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines will compete to send one team to the title game and possibly set up the Longhorns’ final foe on the path to their first national championship since 2005. Even though Texas still needs to get past an undefeated Washington team, which team would they rather face in the championship game if they get there?
The Longhorns have already faced Alabama, having defeated the Crimson Tide all the way back on Sept. 9 in a 34-24 road victory. Beating a team twice in one season is very difficult and both teams are very different than when they first met back in Week 2.
Texas no longer has running back Jonathon Brooks and Alabama has become a much stronger team under quarterback Jalen Milroe — who was still finding his footing early in the season. However, the Crimson Tide has also not been a convincing victor during SEC play.
Alabama won four conference games — including the SEC championship game against Georgia — by just one score. This is not a Crimson Tide team that is blowing out opponents, even if they did get the job done by winning out following their loss to the Longhorns.
It’s also a Nick Saban-coached team in the College Football Playoff. Since the CFP began in 2014, Saban’s Alabama has only lost once in a semifinal — that first 2014 season — and won three of six championship games. Maybe the Longhorn faithful rooting against the Crimson Tide will shake them and force a rare semifinal exit.
Michigan is on Texas’ 2024 and 2027 slates, but a preview of those future matchups on the biggest stage in college football could be in store if the undefeated Wolverines beat the Crimson Tide.
The Wolverines own the best defense in the country, specializing in the physical style that comes from the best in the Big Ten conference. Texas doesn’t have a lot of experience with Big Ten defenses. Since facing Ohio State in the 2009 Fiesta Bowl, the Longhorns’ only matchups with a Big Ten team were a pair of meetings with Maryland in 2017 and 2018 — teams that did not hang their hat on defensive ability.
Even with their impressive defense, the Wolverines have shown to be vulnerable late in the season, struggling to put away the Terrapins before going back-and-forth with Ohio State in their annual rivalry game.
The Longhorns would have to reckon with a tough defense, but Michigan would also need to be concerned with getting star running back Blake Corum going against one of the toughest front sevens to crack in the country.
The Wolverines have been one of the best regular-season squads of the past three years under coach Jim Harbaugh, but have failed in the semifinals of the past two playoffs. If Michigan finally moved on to its first true national title game, would they break their run of bad postseason results and get it done against a potential opponent in Texas?
texas fans should be rooting for Michigan to win the Rose Bowl.
Even though the Wolverines are a tough team to crack defensively, they don’t have national championship experience to worry about like Alabama and don’t have as dynamic of an offense as the Crimson Tide do.
Teams also don’t beat Nick Saban twice in one season. And he’s got a knack for beating teams he lost to when his teams get a second shot. The Longhorns should hope to avoid facing a team that has already seen them up close and has improved since their first meeting.
If Harbaugh and quarterback J.J. The Longhorns should hope to avoid facing a team that has already seen them up close and has improved since their first meeting..
