LOS ANGELES — The No. 1 Michigan football team will wear blue jerseys and maize pants when it faces Alabama on New Year’s Day in the College Football Playoff. And in a classic twist from Rose Bowls past, the Wolverines are adding shoulder patches to their gameday threads.
The Rose Bowl shoulder patches harken back to the 1998 Rose Bowl, when Michigan beat Washington State to claim a national championship.
The Wolverines are the designated home team for the matchup against Alabama. They announced their classic look in a video shared on social media on Saturday morning:
Kickoff between Michigan and Alabama in the Rose Bowl is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 1 at 2:10 p.m. PST.
ESPN will televise the game to a national audience with Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Holly Rowe (Michigan sideline) and Laura Rutledge (Alabama sideline) on the call.
Earlier this week, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh discussed his excitement in playing at the Rose Bowl:
“It’s been good,” Harbaugh said of the Rose Bowl prep. “Guys, they’re really sharp, very energized. It’s all been really good — locked in, focused. I’m not sitting here today saying we’ve done everything and anything that we can, because there’s still a week to go. I want that feeling on game day. Everybody’s as confident as they can be and precise in what they’re doing and that’s what we’re doing. It’s in a good place. We’re just refining it — looking at everything that we can. And we’ll do that right up until game day.”
