The Michigan Wolverines are five days away from facing the Alabama Crimson Tide in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs. Arguments can be made this is the best team they have faced this year (with Ohio State the only other real team to consider).
However, without a doubt, the Crimson Tide have the best quarterback both on the ground and as a passer the Wolverines have faced this season. With several other blue chip athletes across the board, Alabama has a few guys who can turn this game on it’s head. Let’s break some of them down.
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If you want a very in-depth film breakdown of Jalen Milroe’s abilities, I encourage you to take a dive into Andrew Bailey’s piece here. But a more modest breakdown will be done here.
Milroe is an outstanding athlete. Michigan coaches have said over the last few weeks he has legit 4.3 speed. He has a cannon of an arm, but is one of the biggest boom or bust players we have seen in college football in quite some time.
Under pressure, Milroe is particularly keen to make mistakes — interceptions, sacks, fumbles, circus plays. But if he’s kept clean, he’ll find one of his athletic receivers to make a play. The perfect example of that was the final play of the dramatic win over Auburn:
Michigan has put pressure on opposing quarterbacks all season long, but have not gotten home very much. They also have not faced someone as fleet-footed as Milroe out of the pocket. He ran for 12 touchdowns this season and had two games with more than 100 rushing yards — wins over Auburn and LSU.
If the Wolverines can’t keep him under pressure and in the pocket, Milroe could have a huge day and cause a lot of problems for what has been an elite Michigan defense.
If Milroe is looking downfield, he’s probably targeting Jermaine Burton. He has been to two SEC powerhouses in his collegiate career — starting at Georgia, and then transferring to Bama.
