Michigan football ready for a sleepless night: 'Anything tonight will just be a bonus'

LOS ANGELES — The coaches, the helmets, the roses, the trophy.

All of it was there Sunday morning in downtown L.A., when Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh and Alabama coach Nick Saban gave their joint news conference at the final media availability prior to Monday's College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl.

It's a yearly routine filled with awkward pictures and cliché coach speak, as most of the prep work is done, and almost all of the talking. However, as Harbaugh said, the final day before the CFP semifinal is as critical to Michigan as the first practice was after the team learned its opponent.

"The hay is never in the barn for us," he said. "We never think of it that way. Things to clean up, polishing the diamond as we like to say, make the most of this day."

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Sitting 6 feet to his right, Saban gently nodded his head. He, too, has been here before, after winning six national championships with the Crimson Tide (and another at LSU). He said he reminds his players to keep a consistent mentality; it's OK to enjoy the the bowl buildup — Disneyland, The Beef Bowl, meet and greets — but there's also a time to focus.

"I think trying to create the right mindset in the last 48 hours leading up to the game," Saban said. "Really focus on execution, because we have a plan. Everybody has got an accountability and a responsibility to do a job."

Saban is 6-1 in CFP semifinals, including six straight victories since a loss in 2014, the inaugural season.

Harbaugh, meanwhile, is 0-2 in the CFP, having lost to Georgia in 2021 (34-11 in the Orange Bowl) and to TCU in 2022 (51-45 in the Fiesta Bowl). He has learned from those disappointments; he switched up his team's practice schedule this year, and emphasized the importance of getting rest on "the night before the night before."

"Tonight we'll get together, watch a movie, talk to the team, different things like that," Harbaugh said. "Kind of get the red blood pumping a little bit so you can visualize it. Then go to sleep and see how good of a night's sleep you can get.

"Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. We really stressed a good night's sleep last night. Kind of feel like that's the sleep you play on. Got a darn good one last night. Anything tonight will just be a bonus."

Harbaugh is still searching for his family's first victory in "The Granddaddy of Them All," in a fifth go-round. His father, Jack, was on Bo Schembechler's staff for thee consecutive Rose Bowl seasons (1976-78), with each ending in a loss by eight points or less.

As a player, Harbaugh quarterbacked the Wolverines to Pasadena during the 1986 season before losing, 22-15, to Arizona State.

Monday's game will make him just the 12th person to have both played and coached in the Rose Bowl.

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"You grow up watching the Rose Bowl New Year's Day," Harbaugh said. "There's a couple feet of snow outside and you're, like, laying on your stomach in front of the TV, hands like that, looking at palm trees and the parade and the football game.

"It's pretty awesome."

The history of the game is one thing. But what about the future? The transfer portal, revenue sharing, next season's CFP and conference realignment? Neither coach wanted to look past Monday's matchup.

"Big picture, day before the game?," Harbaugh said. "To address some of those things after the game would be my preference."

Saban concurred.

"Yeah, I would say it this way, in agreement with Jim day before the game, I think it's a great question, I also think that it would be a really, really good discussion to have at some point in time," he began, before laughing for the only time Sunday morning. "I don't think sitting up here today is the right time to do it."

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Still, Saban was willing to reveal one change he'd like to see in college football. Asked about the Wolverines' sign-stealing scandal and how the Tide have adjusted their security, Saban — who coached two seasons (2005-06) in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins — said he'd prefer an NFL-style model, with radio headsets in players' helmets.

He had one additional comment, however: "Integrity in the game I think is really, really important," he said. "Our team has had every opportunity to prepare for this game just like they have every other game."

As Harbaugh said, each player has his own approach for getting ready for big games.

The magnitude of the game is certainly a factor, as is an unfamiliar stadium, Harbaugh said. But 5-10 minutes after walking into the stadium, it's time to get down to business and that's what he expects Monday.

"At some point you've got to lock in and you've got to get the rhythm," Harbaugh said. "Rhythm, get the rhythm, get the freaking rhythm, and then toe meets leather and it's on. I never worry about our guys once the game starts because I know that they're going to react and do what they do.

"Yeah, can't wait for that moment. Can't wait to watch our guys compete in this game."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football ready for Rose Bowl: 'Get the freaking rhythm'