| 2024 Rose Bowl presented by Prudential | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| College Football Playoff Semifinal 110th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Players of the Game | J. J. McCarthy (QB, Michigan) Mason Graham (DT, Michigan) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Michigan by 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Michael Vandervelde (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Michigan Marching Band University of Alabama Million Dollar Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 96,371 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN:Chris Fowler (play-by-play),Kirk Herbstreit (color),Holly Rowe andLaura Rutledge (sidelines) ESPN Deportes: Eduardo Varela (play-by-play) and Pablo Viruega (analyst) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | (27.2 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2024 Rose Bowl (officially known as theCollege Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2024 Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential for sponsorship reasons) was acollege footballbowl game played on January 1, 2024, at theRose Bowl inPasadena, California, United States. The game was the 110th annual playing of theRose Bowl, one of the semifinals of the2023–24 College Football Playoff (CFP), concluding the2023 FBS football season. The game featured two of the four teams chosen by the selection committee to participate in the playoff: the fourth-rankedAlabama Crimson Tide of theSoutheastern Conference and the first-rankedMichigan Wolverines of theBig Ten Conference. The winner qualified for the2024 College Football Playoff National Championship against the winner of the other semifinal, hosted at theSugar Bowl.
Michigan entered with an undefeated13–0 record, while Alabama entered with at 12–1. Both teams were champions of their respective conferences: Michigan defeatedIowa in theBig Ten Championship, and Alabama defeated then-No. 1Georgia in theSEC Championship. It was the sixth meeting between Michigan and Alabama and the fifth to occur in the postseason, and Alabama led the overall series 3–2 entering the game. Additionally, the teams entered as the two college football programs with themost all-time wins. Michigan made their twenty-first Rose Bowl appearance, while Alabama appeared for the eighth time.
The game's scoring began on Alabama's third offensive possession whenrunning backJase McClellan scored on a 34-yardtouchdown rush. The Wolverines tied the game on their next drive on an 8-yard touchdown pass fromquarterbackJ. J. McCarthy to running backBlake Corum. A McCarthy touchdown pass towide receiverTyler Morris for 38 yards gave Michigan their first lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half, and the Wolverines maintained this advantage into halftime. Neither team scored in the third quarter, but Alabama retook the lead thirty seconds into the fourth on a 3-yard rush by McClellan. An Alabamafield goal with less than five minutes to play extended their lead to seven points, though a Michigan touchdown byRoman Wilson with ninety-four seconds remaining tied the game and ultimately sent it to overtime. Michigan had possession first in the overtime period and scored a touchdown in two plays. On Alabama's possession, they were ultimately stopped short on fourth and goal from the 3-yard line, giving Michigan a 27–20 victory and a berth in thenational championship game.
TheRose Bowl was first played in January 1902, making it the oldest college footballbowl game. It was then known as theTournament East–West Football Game, reflecting its place as an event during theTournament of Roses Parade. In the first playing, held atTournament Park in Pasadena,Michigan defeatedStanford, 49–0.[1] TheRose Bowl Stadium was built in 1922 and hosted its first Rose Bowl Game in1923, which sawUSC defeatPenn State.[2][3] The Rose Bowl was included as part of theBowl Championship Series (BCS) upon its installation in1998 and hosted theBCS National Championship Game on four occasions: in2002,[4]2006,[5]2010,[6] and2014.[7] After the establishment of theCollege Football Playoff (CFP) beginning with the2014 season,[8] it hosted CFP semifinal games in2015 and2018 prior to the 2024 contest.[9][10] Additionally, the2021 Rose Bowl was a CFP semifinal but was played atAT&T Stadium due toCOVID-19 restrictions.[11]
Prior to the game,Cliff Montgomery,Kirk Herbstreit, andLincoln Kennedy were inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.[12] Former congresswomanGabby Giffords was theRose Parade grand marshal.[13]
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The four teams competing in the Playoff were chosen by the CFP selection committee, whose final rankings were released on December 3, 2023.[14] The committee selected No. 1Michigan of theBig Ten Conference, No. 2Washington of thePac-12 Conference, No. 3Texas of theBig 12 Conference, and No. 4Alabama of theSoutheastern Conference (SEC). Each team was the champion of its respective conference. Michigan and Washington entered the playoff with undefeated13–0 records while Texas and Alabama entered 12–1.[15]
| Semifinals | Championship | |||||||
| January 1 –Rose BowlRose Bowl Stadium,Pasadena | ||||||||
| 1 | Michigan(OT) | 27 | ||||||
| 4 | Alabama | 20 | January 8 –National ChampionshipNRG Stadium,Houston | |||||
| 1 | Michigan | 34 | ||||||
| January 1 –Sugar BowlCaesars Superdome,New Orleans | 2 | Washington | 13 | |||||
| 2 | Washington | 37 | ||||||
| 3 | Texas | 31 | ||||||
The game featuredBig Ten champions Michigan andSEC champions Alabama. This was the sixth meeting between the two teams, and Alabama entered with a 3–2 lead in the overall series. Their most recent meeting was in the2020 Citrus Bowl, in which Alabama defeated Michigan 35–16. Four of the teams' other meetings took place in the postseason, the first being a Michigan victory in the1988 Hall of Fame Bowl. The teams entered the game as the two college football programs with themost all-time wins, with Michigan at 1,002 wins and Alabama at 965.[16]
This was Michigan's 21st appearance in the Rose Bowl—they were 8–12 in prior editions. They lost their previous three Rose Bowl appearances, in2004,2005, and2007. Their last Rose Bowl win came in1998, when they defeatedWashington State 21–16 to win the national championship.[16] Alabama, meanwhile, made their eighth Rose Bowl appearance, with a 5–1–1 record in previous games. Their last appearance came in2021 in a win overNotre Dame, and the Tide's last national championship was wonthe next game overOhio State.[17]
Michigan finished the regular season with a perfect 12–0 record, having concluded their Big Ten schedule with arivalry win over Ohio State, 30–24. As Ohio State also entered the game undefeated, the Big Ten Conference East Division championship was on the line, and Michigan's win and subsequent division title earned them a berth to the2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game against the West Division championIowa.[18] They defeated Iowa in a 26–0 shutout to claim their third consecutive conference championship; theAssociated Press said that Iowa "never had a chance" in the game and remarked that Michigan was likely to claim the No. 1 seed in the playoff,[19] which they ultimately did.[15] The Iowa win gave Michigan a 13–0 record entering the Rose Bowl.[16]
The game was played during anongoing investigation into allegations of sign-stealing by Michigan Wolverines staff members.[20][21][22] The scandal was a major headline for the team throughout the season; it centered around an allegation and subsequent investigations by the NCAA and Big Ten as to whether Michigan violated an NCAA bylaw regarding the scouting of future opponents.Connor Stalions, a Michigan football staffer, was cited by allegations as having attended more than 35 games to scout future opponents. Head coachJim Harbaugh, who denied knowledge of the scouting, was suspended by the Big Ten for the team's last three regular season games againstPenn State,Maryland, and Ohio State. He had previously served a suspension for the team's first three games of the season, againstEast Carolina,UNLV, andBowling Green, as the result of a self-imposed sanction regarding recruiting violations.[23]
Alabama went 11–1 in the regular season, with their only loss coming to Texas on September 9 by a score of 34–24.[24] They finished the season with a defeat ofAuburn in the annualIron Bowl rivalry game; this win came by way of a 31-yardtouchdown pass on 4th & Goal.[25] Their 8–0 conference record gave them the SEC West Division championship and a berth in the2023 SEC Championship Game,[26] where they faced No. 1Georgia.[27] In the game, Alabama defeated the two-time defending national champions, 27–24, ending their 29-game winning streak.[28]
The game'sofficiating crew, representing the Big 12 Conference, was led byreferee Michael Vandervelde.[29] The game, which took place on January 1, 2024, was scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. localPST, though its actual start time was 2:11 p.m.[30] Michigan entered as slim favorites to win the game, and thepoint spread was set at 1.5 points with anover–under of 44.5 points.[31] The game was broadcast onESPN, with play-by-play commentary fromChris Fowler, analysis fromKirk Herbstreit, and sideline reporting fromHolly Rowe andLaura Rutledge.[16] TheESPN Radio broadcast featuredJoe Tessitore on play-by-play, with analysis fromDusty Dvoracek and sideline reporting fromQuint Kessenich.[32] ESPN also offeredField Pass with the Pat McAfee Show onESPN2 andCommand Center onESPNU, as well as a Spanish-languageESPN Deportes broadcast with commentary from Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega.[33][34] The Michigan Sports Network radio feed featured commentary fromDoug Karsch,Jon Jansen, andJason Avant, and the Crimson Tide Sports Network broadcast featured Chris Stewart, Tyler Watts, and Roger Hoover.[16][17]
The pregamecoin toss was won by Alabama, who deferred their choice to the second half, thereby giving Michigan possession of the ball to begin the game.[30]
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The game began with Alabama placekickerWill Reichard's openingkickoff, which landed in theend zone and therefore resulted in atouchback, giving Michigan possession of the ball on the Alabama 25-yard line.[35] On the game's first play, MichiganquarterbackJ. J. McCarthy threw a pass which was initially ruled on the field to have beenintercepted by AlabamasafetyCaleb Downs. The play went to replay review, where it was determined that Downs was out-of-bounds when he caught the ball, meaning the result of the play was an incomplete pass.[36] The next two plays netted two yards for the Wolverines, whose drive ended with athree-and-out and apunt by Tommy Doman on the next play. Alabama's first drive ended similarly, with twoquarterback sacks in three plays by the Michigan defense contributing to an Alabama three-and-out and punt.James Burnip's kick wasmuffed bySemaj Morgan and recovered for Alabama by Quandarrius Robinson at the Michigan 44-yard line, giving Alabama possession again. On this drive, Alabama scored on their fourth play whenrunning backJase McClellan rushed for a 34-yard touchdown, and Reichard'sextra point was successful, giving Alabama a 7–0 lead. Michigan tied the game on their second drive, which included gains of 21 and 19 yards byBlake Corum andKalel Mullings, respectively, and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from McCarthy to Corum. The Wolverines regained possession of the ball following an Alabama three-and-out and advanced the ball to their own 31-yard line before the end of the first quarter.[35]
The second quarter began with a Michigan 3rd & 9 which the Wolverines were unable toconvert. The game's next three drives—two for Alabama and one for Michigan—all resulted in three-and-outs after net gains of no more than four yards. After the last of these punts was downed at the Michigan 17-yard line, the Wolverines gained possession of the ball and were able to gain threefirst downs in five plays to reach midfield. After two plays with no yardage gained, McCarthy passed toTyler Morris for a 38-yard touchdown, giving Michigan their first lead of the game. The ensuing extra point attempt was unsuccessful, keeping Michigan's lead to six points. Doman's kickoff that followed was returned byKendrick Law to the Alabama 16-yard line, giving the Crimson Tide the ball with 3:44 remaining in the first half. The Tide reached Michigan territory in three plays and shortly after faced 3rd & 3 at the Michigan 25-yard line with 28 seconds left. On that play, Alabama quarterbackJalen Milroe was sacked for a loss of 7 yards. On the ensuing fourth down, Reichard made a 50-yardfield goal to pull the Crimson Tide within three points. The final play of the second quarter was aquarterback kneel by Michigan and the Wolverines enteredhalftime with a 13–10 lead.[35]
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Alabama had possession of the ball first in the second half and started their drive on their own 14-yard line following a kickoff return by Law. Their first six plays saw them gain three first downs and reach the Michigan 47-yard line, but afumble by Milroe on thesnap set them back thirteen yards and they punted several plays later. Michigan converted 3rd & 9 on their following drive with a 12-yard pass from McCarthy toCornelius Johnson, though they gained only eight yards on their next three plays and punted on fourth down. The teams then traded three-and-outs and Alabama began their third drive of the quarter with under four minutes remaining and the ball on their own 45-yard line. They entered Michigan territory with a Milroe rush on their first play and were in thered zone after five plays. A Milroe rush for no gain at the Michigan 16-yard line concluded the third quarter with the score still 13–10 in favor of the Wolverines.[35]
Milroe began the fourth quarter with an 18-yard rush, which was immediately followed by a 3-yard touchdown rush by McClellan, giving Alabama the lead. Michigan went three-and-out again afterwards, though the Crimson Tide's next drive was cut short by a fumble on its second play, recovered by Michigan'sJosh Wallace. McCarthy passed toRoman Wilson for a 20-yard gain on the Wolverines' first play, though they did not gain another first down and attempted a 49-yard field goal on fourth down, which was unsuccessful after Turner missed it to the left. Alabama, taking possession at their own 31-yard line, extended their lead as the result of a nine-play drive which saw several first downs gained on rushing plays. It ended with a 52-yard Reichard field goal, leaving just over five minutes on the clock. Michigan began their next drive following a touchback and gained eight yards in three plays, leaving them with 4th & 2 on their own 33-yard line. On the play, McCarthy passed to Corum for a gain of 27 yards, giving Michigan a first down at the 50-yard line. The Wolverines reached the red zone after consecutive gains of 16 and 29 yards immediately afterwards, and a McCarthy-to-Wilson touchdown pass two plays later brought Michigan within one point. The extra point by Turner was good, tying the game at 20 points apiece with 94 seconds left in regulation. Alabama ended their next drive with a punt, though the kick was muffed at the Michigan 6-yard line by Jake Thaw; he ultimately recovered the ball at the 1-yard line. Michigantook a knee to run the remaining seconds off of the clock and send the game toovertime.[35]
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Another coin toss was performed before the start of the overtime period, which was won by Alabama. They opted to play on defense first, giving Michigan the first overtime possession.[30]
The Wolverines opened overtime with an 8-yard rush by Blake Corum, which was immediately followed by a 17-yard Corum touchdown rush and a successful extra point attempt by James Turner. Alabama began their overtime possession with a 15-yard rush by Milroe on the second play, though they soon faced 3rd & Goal on the 14-yard line following rushes for no gain and a 5-yard loss by McClellan. On third down, Milroe passed toJermaine Burton for an 11-yard gain, setting up 4th & Goal on the 3-yard line.[35] Alabama ran aquarterback keeper with Milroe, which failed when he was stopped for a 1-yard gain by Josiah Stewart, ending the game and giving Michigan a 27–20 victory.[37]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Alabama | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| No. 1 Michigan | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
at theRose Bowl •Pasadena, California
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The win improved Michigan's record to 14–0 and gave them a berth to the2024 College Football Playoff National Championship, where they facedSugar Bowl championsWashington. They would eventually defeatWashington 34–13. Alabama's record fell to 12–2 and the Tide's season concluded upon the loss.[38] Michigan quarterback J. J. McCarthy and defensive tackleMason Graham were named the game'smost valuable players.[39]
The ESPN broadcast of the game drew 27.2 million viewers, the highest viewing audience for any CFP semifinal since the2015 Sugar Bowl, during theCFP's first year. It ranked in the top ten audiences for cable telecasts all-time and was the highest for any sporting event, apart from theNational Football League, since 2018. The peak audience of 32.8 million viewers was the most for any CFP semifinal game.[40][41] The game was the most-viewed Rose Bowl since2015, also a CFP semifinal, which had 28.2 million viewers.[42]
The game was the second in Rose Bowl history to reach overtime.[43] The first was the2018 edition, whenGeorgia defeatedOklahoma in double-overtime; that game was also a CFP semifinal.[44]
This game was the last forNick Saban as the Alabama head coach, as he retired on January 10, 2024, after seventeen years in the position.[45]
The game marked the 70th consecutive Rose Bowl played in Pasadena to be attended by San Francisco-based sports columnistArt Spander.[46]
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