Michigan has another prime opportunity to make a huge recruiting statement.

In a month full of mostly meaningless bowl games, Michigan drew a perfect matchup in Alabama. This bowl game means everything on the recruiting front.

A win over one of college football’s true buzz saws could have prospects, well, buzzing. A perfect comparison would be Texas’ win over Georgia in last year’s Sugar Bowl.

It was a marquee victory for the Longhorns and put them in a position to land another Top 5 recruiting class this cycle. Every recruit on Texas’ board was gushing over the win — even though some pundits argued Georgia played subpar due to a playoff snub.

That didn’t matter to recruits. What mattered was a win over Georgia.

Who cares if Alabama isn’t playing at full strength with no Tua Tagovailoa? A win over Alabama is still a win over Alabama. That’s exactly what recruits want to see from Michigan.