ORLANDO, Fla. — Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide took down the Michigan Wolverines in Wednesday's Citrus Bowl, 35-16. Alabama pulled away in the second half behind 21 unanswered points and a second-half shutout.
Crimson Tide junior wide receiver and future NFL star Jerry Jeudy was named the Citrus Bowl MVP after posting six catches for 204 yards and a touchdown.
"For Jerry to go out there and play the way he did and be the MVP of the game and have over 200 yards, certainly he used this opportunity to showcase his ability, so it probably even enhanced his opportunities at the next level," Saban said.
Alabama broke the scoring seal on its first offensive play from scrimmage, when sophomore quarterback Mac Jones connected with Jeudy for an 85-yard score. Jones said Alabama got the look it wanted.
"We motioned the tight end in, and we got a one-on-one with Jerry," Jones said. "That’s kind of how it played out in practice. It was just a perfect look, and I knew Jerry was going to read the guy and the line was going to block the guy."
Jones finished 16-for-25 passing for 327 yards and three touchdowns. It was the big plays that the Wolverines couldn't stop, with eight of Jones' completions going for more than 15-yard gains. He averaged 20.4 yards per completion. The big play ability of the Crimson Tide receivers was on full display.
Saban said his receiving corps is the "most explosive group that we've ever had, in totality."
U-M had a 16-14 lead at half, but the adjustments that Alabama made at the break allowed it to shut down U-M's rushing attack that ran for 135 yards in the first half. The Wolverines ran for only 27 yards in the second half.
"They were hurting us running the ball mostly when they were in two tight ends and two receivers, which we tried to play regular," Saban said. "We play so much nickel and so little regular, plus the number of players we have hurt in the front seven, we’re actually taking a senior DB, who’s a very good player, off the field and playing another younger player. We were making some mistakes in terms of the things we did.
"In the second half, we just decided to play nickel which gives us more multiples of things that we can do. We’re a little smaller on the field when we do that, but it’s easier to adjust. And, the players did a really good job of it, and we were able to pressure more, which helped us stop the run."
Any questions of Alabama not wanting to play in this game were answered this afternoon. When asked what statement he wanted his team to make, Saban said it was to continue on their culture despite not being in the College Football Playoff for the first time since it began in 2014.
"I think there was a lot of value for our program and our team to be able to come and get a reward, first of all, for having a successful season," he said. "I know most people would think 10-2 is a good season. That’s not necessarily our standard — the fact that previous to this year, we’ve been in seven of the last 10 championship games, eight playoffs out of 10. We sort of started to develop a little bit of a reputation that if we weren’t in the playoffs, we didn’t play very well in the bowl games.
"I think that every player can create value for how he plays, and there’s a tremendous amount of value that your team creates by maintaining the culture of how they play in the last game and how they finish the season and how that culture carries over into the next season, especially with the young players."
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