College Football Playoff – Blake Corum, Michigan find offense just in time

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A shirtless Blake Corum was standing at his locker in the bowels of Rose Bowl Stadium Monday when a Michigan staff member handed him a ringing cell phone.

“It’s your father,” he said to Corum.

Minutes earlier, Corum had scored the winning touchdown in overtime on a 17-yard run to beat Alabama 27-20 in the Rose Bowl game presented by Prudential, exorcising Michigan's College Football Playoff demons and, more importantly, putting the Wolverines in position to win their first national championship since 1997.

Corum tried to explain to his understandably excited father that he was surrounded by a horde of media and would do his best to meet him outside when he was finished.

But no explanation was needed for what Michigan did to Alabama on a game-saving touchdown late in regulation that Maize and Blue fans will be talking about for a while, nor for the Wolverines forcing their way back in the end zone in just two plays. overtime.

“We kept saying, 'Do or die. Do we want this to be the last time we play together?'” Corum said. “We were able to come together as a unit, as brothers, during this campaign.”

Their timing couldn't have been better.

The Wolverines had seemingly collapsed on offense. Over their first four drives of the second half, they punted three times and missed a field goal, managing all 44 yards on those possessions.

“Yeah, it kind of comes to mind, 'Here we go,' after some of what happened in the past when we got here,” Michigan offensive guard Trevor Keegan said , referring to Michigan's CFP semifinal defeats in the previous one. two seasons. “But we play for each other. We overcame obstacles and adversity. People can say it's adversity. People can say we cheated. But I really don't care. It was adversity, and this team relied on each other, and it showed in the last quarter, in this drive and in this overtime.

Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy said playoff frustration was on everyone's mind when Michigan regrouped to go for it after Alabama took a 20-13 lead and seized all 'momentum.

The Wolverines dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half, but they only held a 13-10 lead at the break.

“We didn't get what we were looking for the last two years, and that's why we're here today,” said McCarthy, who threw three touchdown passes, including a 4 yards to Roman Wilson who capped Michigan's eighth field goal. game, 75 yards to tie the score with 1:38 left in regulation. “This time, nothing was going to get in our way. We believed that in this group we were going to achieve it, and so did everyone on our side.”

No play was more important in Michigan's equalizer than McCarthy's short pass to Corum on fourth-and-2. Corum made it a 27-yard gain. An illegal blocking penalty brought it back 10 yards, but the Wolverines had a first down and got their life back with just under three minutes to play.

“When I saw Blake, man, and I saw his eyes, it was like there was a devil in his eyes or something,” Keegan said.

On that critical fourth-down play, Corum noticed that the Alabama cornerback slipped inside with the receiver, meaning Corum only saw green turf.

“We had just run a little different version of it,” he said, “and they were down there in the flats with me. And as we were waving for that fourth try, I bumped and I saw that corner over there on our receiver, I was like, 'I know he's going with him,' and he did – and it just opened up.”

And once Michigan tied the score, Corum said he could see in the Alabama players' eyes that they realized they were in trouble.

“As soon as we went into overtime, I knew we had the momentum. I knew we were going to be victorious,” the senior running back said.

Michigan's defense had to make yet another fourth-down stop in overtime when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was stranded at the 2-yard line. But Wolverines defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said it was Michigan's offense that changed the complexion of the game in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Those minutes won't soon be forgotten by Michigan fans, who invaded Pasadena on Monday and celebrated late into the night.

“They never flinch, and that’s what we love about our offense, no matter what happens, no matter if the odds are stacked against them, no matter if mistakes are made,” Jenkins said. “They will never flinch in the most important moments. They will always stand their ground, do what they do best, and that's the most important thing.

“They always lash out. It can be scary. It can make your heart race on the sidelines. But you know they know they're going to handle business.”