No. 1 Michigan returns to the College Football Playoff for the third consecutive season – where a significant challenge will be waiting at the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1 in Pasadena, Calif.
No. 4 Alabama – which has won six national championships under Nick Saban – is that challenge, one that will conjure up more ghosts that the Wolverines have not been able to exorcise in recent seasons.
Michigan is 40-7 since 2020 – one of four schools with at least 40 victories in that stretch. Georgia (49-4), Alabama (49-5) and Ohio State (40-6) are the others, and the Wolverines have been able to beat the Buckeyes the last three seasons. The Bulldogs and Crimson Tide, however, are part of a rough bowl trend Michigan must conquer under Jim Harbaugh, whose 1-6 bowl record will come into focus again heading into the schools’ first Rose Bowl appearance since 2007.
A closer look at Michigan’s bowl history against the SEC with Jim Harbaugh, and whether a change in venue at the Rose Bowl might help.
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Michigan record vs. SEC in bowl games
Michigan is 14-11 all time against the SEC, and that includes an 8-9 record in bowl games.
The Wolverines’ first matchup against a SEC team in a bowl game was a top-10 showdown in the 1984 Sugar Bowl. No. 3 Auburn beat No. 9 Michigan 9-7. Bo Jackson had 130 rushing yards and Al Del Greco kicked three field goals in the victory.
Lloyd Carr had a run of success against SEC schools which included a 5-2 record. That included the 35-34 victory against No. 5 Alabama in the 2000 Orange Bowl; a comeback directed by Tom Brady. Carr also led Michigan to a 41-35 victory against No. 9 Florida in the 2008 Capital One Bowl in his final game. That Gators’ team featured Urban Meyer and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.
Since that game, however, Michigan is 1-6 against SEC schools in bowl games.
| DATE | BOWL | RESULT |
| Jan. 2, 1984 | Sugar | No. 3 Auburn 9, No. 9 Michigan 7 |
| Jan. 2, 1988 | Hall of Fame | Michigan 28, Alabama 24 |
| Jan. 1, 1991 | Gator | No. 12 Michigan 35, No. 15 Ole Miss 3 |
| Jan. 1, 1997 | Outback | No. 16 Alabama 17, No. 15 Michigan 14 |
| Jan. 1, 1999 | Citrus | No. 15 Michigan 45, No. 11 Arkansas 31 |
| Jan. 1, 2000 | Orange | No. 8 Michigan 35, No. 5 Alabama 34 |
| Jan. 1, 2001 | Citrus | No. 17 Michigan 31, No. 20 Auburn 28 |
| Jan. 1, 2002 | Citrus | No. 8 Tennessee 45, No. 17 Michigan 17 |
| Jan. 1, 2003 | Outback | No. 12 Michigan 38, No. 22 Florida 30 |
| Jan. 1, 2008 | Capital One | Michigan 41, No. 9 Florida 35 |
| Jan. 1, 2011 | Gator | No. 21 Mississippi State 52, Michigan 14 |
| Jan. 1, 2013 | Outback | No. 11 South Carolina 33, No. 19 Michigan 28 |
| Jan. 1, 2016 | Citrus | No. 17 Michigan 41, No. 19 Florida 7 |
| Jan. 1, 2018 | Outback | South Carolina 26, Michigan 19 |
| Dec. 29, 2018 | Peach | No. 10 Florida 41, No. 8 Michigan 15 |
| Jan. 1, 2020 | Citrus | No. 9 Alabama 35, No. 17 Michigan 16 |
| Dec. 31, 2021 | Orange | No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11 |
| Jan. 1, 2023 | Rose | No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama |
Michigan record vs. SEC with Jim Harbaugh
Upon his arrival at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh jabbed at SEC schools and their coaches. He set up satellite camps in the South. In John U. Bacon’s book “Overtime: Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Crossroads of College Football,” Harbaugh spoke about the disparities in spending between the Big Ten and SEC and said "It’s hard to beat the cheaters."
That one-liner followed Harbaugh into this season when he was suspended for the first three games of the regular season by Michigan as part of a recruiting scandal and the last three games of the regular season by the Big Ten as part of an in-person scouting and sign-stealing scandal.
On the field, it has not gone well for Harbaugh against SEC schools in bowl games. The Wolverines beat Florida 41-7 in the Citrus Bowl in Harbaugh’s first season, but four consecutive bowl losses have followed to South Carolina (2018 Outback), Florida (2019 Peach), Alabama (2020 Citrus) and Georgia (2021 Orange). Michigan has lost those four games by an average of 18.8 points per game, and that included the 34-11 loss to the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31, 2021.
Harbaugh will hope to break that trend at the Rose Bowl, where the Wolverines have not played since 2007.
Michigan Rose Bowl history
Michigan is making its first Rose Bowl appearance since Jan. 1, 2007 – a 32-18 loss to No. 8 USC. The Wolverines are 8-12 all time in the Rose Bowl. Their last victory in Pasadena was on Jan. 1, 1998 in a 21-16 victory against No. 8 Washington State. That clinched the AP national championship for Michigan.
Michigan has never played an SEC school in the Rose Bowl Game, however, an added twist that should make this year’s game against the Crimson Tide that much more interesting.
Jim Harbaugh was the starting quarterback for Michigan in the 1987 Rose Bowl – a 22-15 loss to No. 7 Arizona State – which was led by future Ohio State coach John Cooper. This is Harbaugh’s first appearance in the Rose Bowl as Michigan’s coach.
Michigan vs. Alabama in 2023
This marks the sixth matchup head-to-head matchup between Alabama and Michigan. The Crimson Tide won the last meeting 35-16 in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2020 – the only head-to-head meeting between Harbaugh and Saban.
Michigan is a 1.5-point favorite, and the Wolverines have more depth than they had in that last meeting four years ago. J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum both finished in the top-10 in the Heisman Trophy voting, and the Wolverines lead the FBS in scoring defense at 9.5 points per game.
Alabama, however, barreled into the CFP after a 27-24 victory against two-time defending national champion Georgia in the SEC championship game. Quarterback Jalen Milroe has emerged as a late-season star for the Crimson Tide, and there is still more than enough five-star talent to lead Alabama to yet another national championship. Given the Crimson Tide’s track record in the CFP and Michigan’s struggles against the SEC, some might consider the Wolverines the underdog in this matchup.
MORE: Alabama, Michigan have combined 9 Sporting News All-Americans
