The most interesting part of Alabama’s Rose Bowl matchup with Michigan is the juxtaposition of two coaches who are defiant in their beliefs.
The identities of Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan team and Nick Saban’s Alabama team aren’t ambiguous. They are the heads of the two all-time winningest programs in the sport, and they remain on top by prioritizing crisp, efficient and mistake-free football.
Michigan has just five turnovers on the year, its 3.2 points per drive is No. 6 nationally, and it has the fewest plays that go for zero or negative yards outside of the service academies, per ESPN Stats & Info. The Wolverines also have committed the fourth fewest penalties in the country.
“Michigan forces you to be so patient and be so bored sometimes,” said an opposing coach. “That’s what they’re so good at. What they make you do is they make you feel like the game is way shorter. And then you make the game shorter because you rush. You maybe do things outside of what you [normally] do.”
Saban rarely gets outside of himself on game day. And Alabama has another collection of mesmerizing stars on defense, starting with the country’s top pairing of cornerbacks — Kool-Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold — to go along with elite edge rusher Dallas Turner.
McKinstry has allowed just nine completions on 28 attempts this season and a lone touchdown, per ESPN Stats & Info. Arnold has been one of the SEC’s most improved players.
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