Michigan football game score vs. Alabama: live updates, highlights from Rose Bowl

Michigan football is back on the biggest stage of college football. The Wolverines are playing Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Rose Bowl.

Michigan won its third straight Big Ten championship and went 13-0 for the second consecutive season to reach the playoff the third straight year and earn the No. 1 seed for the first time. Michigan is looking to shake the demons of the last two years and win its first semifinal game to reach the national championship game in Houston.

Standing in its way is Alabama, one of the modern giants of college football led by legendary coach Nick Saban. The Crimson Tide have won six national titles since Saban took over, including three in the playoff format which began in 2014. Alabama started with an early loss to Texas but rallied to win 11 straight games, including the SEC championship game, to sneak into the bracket as the No. 4 seed.

The Rose Bowl kicks off at its traditional 5 p.m. Eastern timeslot from Pasadena, California, and will be on ESPN. It can also be streamed live on Fubo. Michigan is a 2½-point favorite.

TUNE IN: Watch Michigan-Alabama live on Fubo (free trial)

Michigan vs. Alabama live updates, highlights

Game notes and highlights to come.

Pregame notes

Michigan went undefeated despite dealing with multiple suspensions for head coach Jim Harbaugh and being embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal that is under NCAA investigation. Harbaugh missed the first three games of the season and the final three games of the season, but his absence didn’t impact the results on the field during the season for the Wolverines as they cruised to its third straight CFP appearance. Harbaugh and Michigan are squaring off with Saban for the second time in the decorated coaches' careers with Alabama winning the first matchup, 35-16, in the 2020 Citrus Bowl.

Michigan’s defense and running game is a big reason for the success again. The defense enters the postseason ranked No. 1 in the country in total defense (239.7 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (9.5 points allowed per game) after stifling every offense it faced during the season, never giving up more than 24 points in a game.

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Blake Corum, once again, is the engine of the offense, rushing for 1,000 yards for the third straight season to go along with his 24 rushing touchdowns, the most in the country, to etch his name in the Michigan history books. He, along with Donovan Edwards, paced the offense in the final month of the season, as quarterback J.J. McCarthy played through injury and saw his numbers go down. McCarthy, now healthy, and the passing game will be one of the x-factors of the game against an Alabama secondary full of future NFL players like Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry.

The top-ranked Michigan defense will be facing one of its toughest tests of the season against Alabama’s offense, which averages 35.1 points per game, led by dual-threat quarterback Jalen Milroe. He bounced back from being benched in Week 3 against South Florida, and has been responsible for 33 total touchdowns (23 passing, 10 rushing) and has thrown six interceptions since taking the starting job back over, good enough to finish sixth in Heisman voting and guide Alabama to a perfect finish to the season.

College Gameday pick

ESPN's College Gameday pregame show was on the field at the Rose Bowl for its Saturday morning show. Lee Corso, the show's iconic host, decided to put on a maize-and-blue helmet and strike a Heisman pose, signaling his pick for Michigan. Corso said it is possibly the most controversial pick he's made in his 36 years on the show.

The other hosts on the show were split. Desmond Howard, who won the Heisman at Michigan, chose his alma mater to win, while Pat McAfee backed Alabama. Kirk Herbstreit did not give a pick for the game because he will be the color commentator on ESPN.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football vs. Alabama: Rose Bowl live updates, highlights