Shock: The CFP Semifinal Matchup pits No. 1 Michigan against No. 4 Alabama.
Following their conference title victory over Iowa on Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines rose to the top, securing a meeting with No. 4 Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
Michigan, who is playing in its third consecutive CFP, has a perfect 13-0 record going into the postseason for the second straight year.
CFP Matchups:
- No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama
- Rose Bowl (Semifinal) – 5:00 pm ET Monday, Jan. 1 on ESPN
- No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas
- Sugar Bowl (Semifinal) 8:45 pm ET Monday, Jan. 1 on ESPN
MGoBlue.com provides the following synopsis of Michigan’s record going into the 2023 College Football Playoff:
- Best victories: against No. 2 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State, and No. 16 Iowa
- Michigan’s 45th-place league finish Additionally, the Big Ten Title represents the first three consecutive outright Big Ten Championships in program history.
- 1988–92 was the last season in which the Wolverines won three straight Big Ten titles; during that run, U-M won four of the five Big Ten titles (1988, ’89, ’91, ’92).
- Michigan has completed its second 13-0 season in a row and its second 13-win season overall.
- The Wolverines have won 25 straight Big Ten games going back to 2021, which is the third-longest winning streak in Big Ten history and the longest in program history.
- According to the league record book, Michigan has won 22 straight Big Ten games because the Big Ten Conference does not count the Big Ten championship games in 2021, 2022, or 2023 as conference contests. That number eclipsed the previous best, which was held by the teams led by Gary Moeller from 1990 to 1992 (19).
- U-M’s defense gets better in the second half. 13 third quarters have been played, and opponents have amassed 33 first downs in total. Four teams were held to less than 15 yards of total offense, and eleven (11) of the thirteen teams were unable to score 75 yards of offense in the quarter.
- U-M’s second-half scoring defense, which leads the FBS at 4.8 points per half, is the lowest in the country thus far this season. This season, no team has scored more than twice in a half.