NIGERIAN HERITAGE HELPED SEATTLE SEAHAWKS WIN THE SUPER BOWL LX

 

JALEN MILROE NEARLY RALLIES ALABAMA BACK, BUT FALLS TWO YARD SHORT IN OT AGAINST MICHIGAN

Jalen Milroe. AP Photo

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Jalen Milroe helped rally Alabama with his legs and put the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide on the verge of its seventh appearance in the College Football Playoff championship game.

The dynamic quarterback was denied at the very end.

With the Crimson Tide needing a touchdown and facing fourth-and-goal from the Michigan 3-yard line in overtime, Milroe tried to go up the middle, but was stopped by Josaiah Stewart for a 1-yard gain, giving the top-ranked Wolverines a 27-20 victory in the 110th Rose Bowl on Monday.

“At the end of the day I just trusted the guys up front for believing in me on the last play to have the ball, and unfortunately we just missed and we just didn’t get in the end zone,” said Milroe, who accounted for 179 yards rushing and passing.

After both teams used their timeouts, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees called a quarterback run, which coach Nick Saban said was one of the two 2-point conversion plays they had installed for the game.

NO. 8 ALABAMA KNOCKS OFF NO. 1 GEORGIA 27-24 FOE SEC TITLE. BOTH TEAMS AWAIT PIST SEASON FATE

AP Photo 

ATLANTA (AP) — After handing Georgia its first loss in nearly two years, Alabama mixed a raucous celebration of its latest Southeastern Conference championship with a whole lot of lobbying for a College Football Playoff spot that no one could've envisioned in September.

Jalen Milroe, the quarterback who epitomizes the Crimson Tide's remarkable turnaround from an early-season loss to Texas, posed a pointed question to the committee that will decide who's in — and who's out.

“Georgia is number one, right?” said Milroe, who was picked as MVP of a 27-24 victory Saturday that snapped the top-ranked Bulldogs' 29-game winning streak. “We just beat the number one team. What do you consider us?”

Alabama would have to make a big leap from No. 8 in both the AP poll and the most recent CFP rankings — and perhaps leapfrog the No. 7 Texas team that beat it 34-24 in Tuscaloosa on Sept. 9 — to claim a spot in the four-team playoff that will be announced Sunday.

Another big question: Is Georgia’s bid for a third straight national title over?

Coach Kirby Smart bristled at the notion that his team — with two straight national titles on its resume — squandered a shot at becoming the first team in the AP poll era to win three championships in a row.

“It’s the best four teams,” Smart said. “So if you go tell me somebody sitting in that committee room doesn’t think that Georgia team is one of the best four teams, I don’t know if they’re in the right profession because we're a really good football team.”