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It makes little difference that Michigan is the top seed in the College Football Playoff. It makes little difference that Alabama made the playoffs despite looking inferior than usual.
Bama is still Bama, the club with three CFP-era national championships, and the Wolverines are well aware of what awaits them in this year’s Rose Bowl quarterfinal.
Fortunately for them, they have some players who have previously faced the Crimson Tide in graduate linebacker Michael Barrett, graduate cornerback Mike Sainristil, and graduate receiver Cornelius Johnson, all of whom played Bama in the 2020 Citrous Bowl. While it’s a game they’d rather forget — a 35-16 setback after leading at halftime — it’s a welcome experience at a time of year when every advantage counts.
“It was funny, coach (Jim) Harbaugh brought that up in a team meeting, and he’s looking like ‘You were there, right?'” Barrett stated on Thursday. “I’m like ‘yeah’ and everybody just busts out laughing.”
Barrett’s largest contribution came on a 23-yard kick return, while Sainristil caught one eight-yard throw back when he was still a wideout. However, the Wolverines’ senior leaders are all too aware with what it’s like to take on Alabama football’s superpower.
Alabama missed the playoffs despite having a loaded roster in 2019 due to defeats to LSU and Auburn. It was the first postseason it has missed since the format’s creation, and the playoff from last season became the second. The Crimson Tide have been that dominant.
This year’s Alabama team has returned to the big stage, and Michigan will face them once more, this time for a trip to the national championship game. Even though the 2019 Crimson Tide team offers some experience that could benefit the Wolverines, it’s not a one-for-one comparison.
“They have a lot of similarities, but I feel like it was a different team back then,” said Barrett. “… They had Devonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, and Najee Harris on the team.” It’s difficult to bring back those types of players where you have that sort of skill in another year, since they were loaded that year. So it’s difficult to compare the two.”
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