Nick Saban and his Alabama Crimson Tide did not perform the way they have been performing throughout the season in the Rose Bowl game. Instead, Alabama had a hard time going against Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines, which ultimately ended in a 27-20 loss for Saban and brought an end to their natty run.
Nick Saban's team struggled to make offensive plays against the defensive stronghold put up by Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Furthermore, the Crimson Tide's offensive line has been the subject of criticism throughout the season. But the flaws started to become clearer in the CFP semi-final as quarterback Jalen Milroe was sacked five times in the first half itself.
This opinion is something that is now agreed upon by several other college football coaches as well. In a recent article by The Athletic, an anonymous coach who faced the Michigan Wolverines this season talked about how the team's defense is strong on the field. This led to Saban's O-line looking average, which ultimately cost them a shot at adding another national title to their trophy cabinet:
"Michigan is so tough on defense. They made Alabama one-dimensional. Their D-line is that good. They made Bama look like an average O-line."
The Crimson Tide had one last opportunity in OT after Michigan running back Blake Corum scored a touchdown to make the score 27-20 in their favor. But a bad low snap by center Seth McLaughlin threw off Milroe's rhythm. The quarterback gathered the ball but was unable to score on fourth-and-goal on three as Michigan's defense stopped him in his track.
Now, as the dust around the CFP semi-final games has settled, this year's national title contention is scheduled to be played between Michigan and the Washington Huskies, who defeated Texas in the Sugar Bowl.
Nick Saban revealed a major issue that contributed to Alabama's CFP semi-final loss
Following the heartbreaking Rose Bowl game, Nick Saban made his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show". During his appearance, he talked about one major problem that was the primary cause of the bad snaps in the game against Michigan.
According to him, Set McLaughlin felt that he was hearing clapping from Jalen Milroe. This made him think that the quarterback wanted him to snap the ball which led to so many botched low snaps on the field.
"But our center was thinking that somebody was making a noise that sounded like clapping. And he was snapping the ball early sometimes and when we weren't ready sometimes. That's a huge issue for our quarterback."
As their 2023 season came to a disappointing end, Coach Saban will now have to focus on making improvements for the next season. Can the 72-year-old win his eighth national title with Alabama in 2024?
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