PASADENA, Calif. – Michigan football pulled off one of the most iconic wins in program history this week, beating mighty Alabama at the Rose Bowl to advance to the national championship game.
But it probably wasn’t in the way you expected.
Even though the Wolverines were ranked No. 1 in the country heading into Monday evening, most of the country expected Alabama to win. And it’s hard to blame them if you only look at the rosters on paper.
Alabama is the most talented team in the nation. According to the 247 Sports Talent Composite, it’s really not even close.
Nick Saban has a roster loaded with 18 five-star recruits, 56 four-stars, and only 10 three-stars. Of Alabama’s scholarship players, 71 received a rating over 90.
Michigan, the nation’s 14th-most talented team, has just two five-stars to go along with 45 four-stars and 38 three-stars. Only 41 players are rated 90 or higher.
The difference in talent “points” between Alabama and Michigan is roughly the same as the difference between Michigan and Maryland, according to the rankings.
But as Michigan fans (and, as of three days ago, Alabama fans) know, talent isn’t the only factor. Jim Harbaugh’s entire tenure at Michigan is proof.
Over the past nine seasons, many of Michigan’s most important players weren’t highly ranked coming out of high school. Some of them weren’t even playing the right position (or sport).
Ronnie Bell, a former unranked prospect who was committed to play basketball at Missouri State before joining the Wolverines, led the team in receiving yards three of his four full seasons.
Hassan Haskins was a three-star ranked 975th in his class before switching from running back to linebacker and back to running back and carrying Michigan to its first win over Ohio State in a decade. He finished with 1,327 yards and 20 scores in Michigan’s first playoff season.
For every Donovan Peoples-Jones or Daxton Hill, there have been 10 D.J. Turners, Mike Dannas, Kwity Payes, and Josh Uches.
Michigan cannot recruit like Alabama, so Michigan had to find other ways to compete with Alabama. Monday was the perfect example of that plan coming together.
Michigan didn’t beat the sport’s greatest dynasty with long plays from top-50 running back Donovan Edwards or turnovers forced by five-star Will Johnson. They did it behind a relentless defense led by former three-star recruits.
Alabama played 13 games without being held under 300 yards this year, including against the second, fourth, sixth, and seventh “most talented” teams in the nation. But in the biggest game of the season, despite offensive and special teams mistakes, Michigan managed to hold the Crimson Tide to 288 yards and 20 points.
Michigan’s pass defense stood out most, with Alabama averaging just 5 yards per attempt. Jalen Milroe was sacked six times -- thrice by former three-star prospects Michael Barrett, Josaiah Stewart, and Kris Jenkins.
In his sixth season of college football, Barrett led the Wolverines with seven solo tackles. He was a mid-three-star recruit back in 2018 with only three offers from SEC schools despite playing in Valdosta, Georgia.
You can’t talk about Barrett’s long career without mentioning Mike Sainristil, who came to Michigan in 2019 as the 59th-rated cornerback in his class and immediately switched to receiver. After three years, he moved back to defense and became an All-American defensive back.
Barrett and Sainristil haven’t just been valuable to Michigan on the field. Their leadership and experience helped Michigan through Jim Harbaugh’s suspensions and gave the defense continuity through multiple coordinators, recruiting classes, and transfers.
Two of those transfers, Josaiah Stewart and Josh Wallace, are former three-stars who came from small schools and played key roles against Alabama.
Stewart made perhaps the biggest play of the season, blowing up the highest-ranked player on Alabama’s roster -- five-star offensive tackle JC Latham -- for a fourth-down tackle in overtime.
Stewart was the No. 748 player in the 2021 class before committing to Coastal Carolina. But by the end of one season at Michigan, the 245-pounder is out there plowing 360-pound five-stars to win the Rose Bowl.
With the season on the line, Saban gave his dynamic quarterback the ball behind his highest-ranked player, and Michigan’s three-star transfer was better than them both.
It doesn’t get more Michigan than that.
Stewart’s play wouldn’t have even happened if not for former three-star safety Rod Moore making a critical open-field tackle to keep Milroe from scoring on the second play of Alabama’s overtime drive. That’s the same Rod Moore who “called game” on Ohio State with an interception.
Michigan’s entire defense was outrageously good against Ohio State, from the highly-ranked Johnson in coverage to three-star Kenneth Grant in the trenches. Grant has become one of Michigan’s best players, even though half of his scholarship offers came from MAC schools.
Would Harbaugh prefer to have a roster full of the best players in the country? Absolutely. It’s no coincidence that all nine of the College Football Playoff champions have come from programs currently ranked in the top seven in the talent composite.
But even though it’s not the easiest path, Michigan proved there is another way to win at the highest level. No program does a better job identifying the right players, developing them, and putting them in position to succeed.
That’s why Michigan is 39-3 over the past three seasons. That’s why Michigan beat Alabama.
