Michigan flooded the field with joy on fourth-and-three, fourth-and-goal, fourth-and-game, and fourth-and-season plays when they stuffed Jalen Milroe at the line of scrimmage. As more than 25 million people watched on TV, tens of thousands of Michigan fans cheered as the Wolverines defeated Alabama 27–20 in overtime to preserve their incredible season.
After a tight, back-and-forth game, it was the walk-off, overtime winner that defensive players always hope to make, and it sent Michigan to the national championship.
After the game of the play, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins declared in the locker room, “A movie, without a doubt.” “That will remain ingrained in our memories for the rest of our lives.”
The play was set up for success—it was in overtime and came after injury, Michigan, and Alabama timeouts—but the Crimson Tide’s errors may have deflated the excitement.
Jalen Milroe picked up the ball and took off after fielding another low snap from his center. Mike Sainristil had cleared the line unobstructed on his left, if he had desired to move to that side. Michael Barrett was waiting to the right; Michigan’s cover-zero risk had paid off.
Consequently, the reality was to run up the middle, regardless of the original play call. Using its bulk to its advantage, Alabama’s offensive line had, on paper, done a great job run-blocking all night, running for 221 sack-adjusted rushing yards on 6.0 yards per carry.
But it was a complete failure on the field. The Crimson Tide were knocked off the line of scrimmage right away. As they were pulling to the left, their right guard became entangled in the traffic. Derrick Moore made the initial touch on Milroe by slipping past and underneath Alabama’s tight end. In instance, Josaiah Stewart won his duel by forcefully pressing Alabama’s right tackle over two gaps to the extent that it might be argued that Michigan tackled Milroe more by tripping over his own teammate’s foot.
On the field, however, it was an utter failure. The Crimson Tide were immediately forced off the line of scrimmage. Their right guard got caught up in the traffic as they were pulling to the left. The first contact with Milroe came from Derrick Moore, who moved beneath and beyond Alabama’s tight end. To win his duel, for example, Josaiah Stewart pushed Alabama’s right tackle over two gaps so hard that one could claim Michigan tackled Milroe harder by tripping over his own teammate’s foot.
After the game, some players who spoke with 247Sports said that Michigan was certain Jalen Milroe would run the ball. Despite suffering seven sacks and managing only 5.0 yards per attempt during the game, the quarterback managed to run for 112 yards on 15 non-sack carries, which included a 15-yard touchdown just moments earlier on the second play of overtime.
Jenkins stated, “There was no doubt in our minds that he was going to win the ball.” You all were presumably aware that he was actually winning the ball. We simply understood that we had to submit at the line of scrimmage; the players had to prevail at the assault point, which they did. You witnessed Mason and KG close in, as well as the edges closing in to create a statement.
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