Despite a very unfortunate loss to the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl, we must appreciate what an incredible run Nick Saban and the Tide had this year. With two new coordinators and replacing the No. 1 overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, winning a national championship was never going to be an easy task. However, the fact of the matter is the team could have quit after ugly Week 2 and 3 performances against Texas and USF, but the team never gave up and just continued to fight all year long.
Alabama battled back from adversity in the early parts of the season, gave us an all-time moment against Auburn, knocked off Georgia to prevent a three-peat and became champions of the SEC again – all things considered, that’s a successful season. It is obviously frustrating that the Tide lost, but they more than proved they deserved a spot in the Playoffs. The offense had the ball up four with a chance to make it a two score game in the fourth quarter and the defense had Michigan in a late 4th and 2 and neither sides of the ball were able to put the game away.
With Alabama and Michigan being the two winningest programs’ in college football history and the Rose Bowl being the oldest and most historic site, it is no surprise to see how popular the semi-final game was. The Rose Bowl averaged 27.2 million viewers which makes it the most-viewed non-NFL sporting event since 2018. Whether you love or hate the Tide, people tune in to watch them, and with the country rejoicing after every Alabama loss, it is still clear who the premier program in the sport is.
This year's Rose Bowl between Michigan and Alabama averaged 27.2 million viewers.
That makes it the most-viewed college football playoff semifinal since 2014 and the most-viewed non-NFL sporting event since 2018.
College football is as big as ever đ pic.twitter.com/N3bCyu1ZOR
— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) January 2, 2024
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