LOS ANGELES — While most are looking at the Rose Bowl as being a battle between the Michigan football defense and Alabama’s offense, led by enigmatic quarterback Jalen Milroe, the Wolverine offense will have a tough task on their hands, as well.
Alabama has the 17th-ranked defense, and while that’s not as high as some teams Michigan has had to go up against, the Crimson Tide have seen much tougher offenses weekly in the SEC than the maize and blue in the Big Ten. Much of the game will center on the Michigan offense sustaining drives and finding ways to score against a defense that’s 16th nationally in keeping teams out of the end zone.
On Friday, star cornerback for the Tide, Kool-Aid McKinstry shared what he’s seen from the Michigan offense, noting that quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the cog that makes the entire thing move.
“I feel like starting with J.J. — he’s a great quarterback,” McKinstry said. “He can make all the throws, whether it’s to the field or he can make good tight throws in tight windows. He can put the ball where he needs to put the ball, so I feel like he’s a good quarterback and I feel like receivers do a good job of getting open for him and running decent routes for him and just making tough catches, also, when he puts the ball in tight windows.”
Is there a team that Alabama has played that’s similar? McKinstry noted two SEC teams that Michigan reminds him of, with one of them being a rival who ran for 244 yards on it in Week 13.
“This offense kind of reminds me a little bit of Auburn. I feel like they do similar things,” McKinstry said. “And also Georgia when they’re getting in a lot of silver and just lining up big guys and running the ball right at you.”
So what’s the key if you’re on the Alabama side? For McKinstry, it’s all about the defense staying on the same page. But more than that, the Crimson Tide star is certainly confident.
“I feel like we’ve got to go out there as a secondary and do what we do best, communicate, over-communicate,” McKinstry said. “Make sure we’re all on the same page. I feel like we’re all on the same page, everybody knows their job and everybody is reading their keys, I feel like we’re going to stop them.”
The Rose Bowl kicks off at 2 p.m. PST and will be broadcast on all of the ESPN channels.