The stop heard ’round the football world: Inside Michigan’s overtime fourth-down clincher
On fourth-and-three, fourth-and-goal, fourth-and-game and fourth-and-season, Michigan stuffed Jalen Milroe at the line of scrimmage, and flooded the field in euphoria.
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PASADENA, Calif. — It was the stop heard ‘round the football world.
On fourth-and-three, fourth-and-goal, fourth-and-game and fourth-and-season, Michigan stuffed Jalen Milroe at the line of scrimmage, and flooded the field in euphoria. The tens of thousands of Michigan fans at Rose Bowl Stadium roared, while more than 25 million viewers on TV watched the Wolverines finish off Alabama, 27-20 in overtime, and keep their dream season alive.
It was a walk-off, overtime clincher that defensive players dream of making, and after a tense, back-and-forth game, it sent Michigan to the national championship.
“A movie, without a doubt,” defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said in the locker room after the game of the play. “That’s something that’s going to be burned in our minds for the rest of our lives.”
Despite the buildup of the play — in addition to being in overtime, it was preceded by an injury timeout, Michigan timeout and Alabama timeout — the Crimson Tide’s miscues arguably made it anticlimactic.
As Jalen Milroe fielded yet another low snap from his center, he scooped the ball up and took off. If he had wanted to go to his left, Mike Sainristil had made it through the line unblocked on that side. To the right, Michael Barrett was waiting, as Michigan’s cover-zero gamble had paid off.
So regardless of what the initial play call was, running up the middle was the reality. On paper, Alabama’s offensive line had done a nice job run-blocking all night, using its size to its advantage and rushing for 221 sack-adjusted rushing yards on 6.0 yards per carry.
But on the field, it was a disaster. The Crimson Tide were immediately beaten off the line of scrimmage. Their right guard got caught in the congestion while pulling to the left side. Derrick Moore got under and past Alabama’s tight end to make first contact on Milroe. Josaiah Stewart in particular won his matchup, bull-rushing Alabama’s right tackle over two gaps to the point where, arguably, Milroe was not so much tackled by Michigan as he may have tripped on his own teammate’s feet.
Whatever the play call was for either team and regardless of what was supposed to happen, Milroe was stuffed just past the line of scrimmage, well short of the goal line to seal the win for Michigan. It was the kind of last-second, coin-flip play Alabama seems to get when it matters most, and one Wolverine fans have been on the losing side of plenty over the years.
“Back against the wall, they down there at the (three), one of the best teams in the country, best dynasty teams in the country, game on the line,” linebacker Michael Barrett said, “and he goes down short.”
According to several players who spoke to 247Sports after the game, Michigan firmly believed that Jalen Milroe was going to run the ball. The quarterback had endured seven sacks and had averaged just 5.0 yards per attempt on the night, but had run for 112 yards on 15 non-sack carries, including a 15-yard run a moment prior on the second play of overtime.
“We definitely knew he was going to get the ball, without a shadow of a doubt,” said Jenkins. “Y’all probably knew he was getting the ball, for real. We just knew we had to bow up at the line of scrimmage, guys were going to have to win at the point of attack and they did. You saw KG close in, Mason close in and the edges close in and make a statement.”
Ahead of the play, Michigan called a timeout to adjust its personnel. Then, Alabama called a timeout to change its look. As if a play that monumental needed more buildup and suspense.
“Coach was telling us the whole time, like, this is the moment we were built for,” said linebacker Junior Colson. “This is the moment we come out here to play for. … We said it’s 4th down, one last play.”
According to Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the Wolverines were in their cover-zero “twister” look, where they rush six and essentially sell out to stop the run. The message to the players on the field? Go get Milroe and make a memory
“We knew exactly what was going to happen,” said Colson. “When the moment gets tough, you go to your best player, and they went to their best player, and we were right there to stop it.”
While Michigan’s defense was trying to close the game out on the field, the Wolverines offense was trying to keep its composure on the sidelines. The Wolverines had scored a last-minute touchdown to tie the game at 20 in regulation, then added seven more points on a two-play, 25-yard drive in overtime. Still, after struggling on offense for much of the second half in its lowest point total through four quarters all season, no one on Michigan’s offense was relaxed as Alabama attempted to tie the game.
“We had a lot of mistakes,” said offensive guard Trevor Keegan, who said he, Sherrone Moore, Zak Zinter and Karsen Barnhart prayed during the play and didn’t watch. “Shoot, we didn’t really deserve to win.”
As the stop was made, Michigan’s portion of the crowd — a slight majority, by our estimates — erupted into its loudest frenzy of the night. Though the Wolverines have had plenty of glorious moments over the last three seasons, including a 6-0 mark against Penn State and Ohio State, a 3-0 record in Big Ten championship games and a 39-3 overall record, there was something special about its comeback win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
