ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan football is ready to turn the tide, which means taking down the Tide. But in order to do that, that which has been the preparation the past two years must change for the Wolverines.
Players have been saying in the lead-up to the Rose Bowl that the schedule has changed. Gone are the grueling practices that last the entirety of the interim between the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff semifinal. There’s a mixture of walkthroughs and regular practices, helping ease the bodies, allowing the players to remain fresh.
Sophomore defensive tackle Kenneth Grant feels that the new approach will pay dividends when it comes to facing Alabama.
“I think we finally got the formula down, ready to go,” Grant said. “The past two years we’ve been there. So we know what it takes. But also learning off our mistakes the past two years, what we did and didn’t do, on and off the field.”
That said, Michigan is not wide-eyed about the Tide. Nick Saban’s team is the most successful in recent history and he’s rightfully earned the title of the greatest of all time in the sport due to Alabama’s prowess — especially in the College Football Playoff.
The Wolverines, on the other hand, have made it to the four-team invitational twice. They lost spectacularly against Georgia in 2021 and squandered a prime opportunity against TCU last year. Still, this Michigan team is looking at Alabama as what it is: certainly better than teams in the Big Ten, but not some unbeatable leviathan.
“They definitely have success but it really doesn’t say anything,” Grant said. “That first year, we played Georgia — this year we know we’re gonna face a bigger, faster team — bigger, faster teams than the Big Ten. So gotta come prepared.”
Grant says ‘the narrative in here is much different’ when it comes to how the matchup is viewed nationally. ESPN, among many others, predicts Michigan to lose — which, given the recent history in the postseason on both sides, makes sense.
But he says that there’s one thing that can help the Wolverines, and it’s simply coming to the table with the right amount of preparedness and executing beyond that.
“Definitely preparation — either if it’s on the field or off the field. I think that’s our main point right now is just doing what we did in the past few years. But doing more of it. Just doing the fine points better.”
Michigan and Alabama will kick off in the Rose Bowl on Monday at 2 p.m. PST as part of the College Football Playoff semifinal.