PASADENA, Calif. – A bare-chested Blake Corum stood in front of his locker in the bowels of Rose Bowl Stadium on Monday when a Michigan employee handed him a ringing cell phone.
“He is your father,” he said to Corum.
Just 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, most importantly, putting the Wolverines in position to win their first national championship since 1997.
Corum tried to explain to his father, who was naturally excited, that he was surrounded by a horde of media and that he would do everything he could to meet him outside when he was done.
But no explanation was needed for what Michigan did to Alabama on a game-saving touchdown drive at the end of regulation that Maize and Blue fans will be talking about for some time, nor for the Wolverines breaking through to the end zone in just two plays. in overtime.
“We kept saying, ‘Death 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, on that path.”
His timing couldn’t have been better.
The Wolverines had seemingly failed on offense. On their first four drives of the second half, they punted three times and missed a field goal, gaining 44 yards on those possessions.
“Yeah, it goes through your mind, kind of like, ‘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 losses in the semifinals. of the CFP in the previous season. two seasons. “But we play for each other. We’ve overcome obstacles and adversity. People can say it’s adversity. People can say we cheated. But I really don’t give a damn. It was adversity, and this team trusted each other, and “It was shown in that last quarter, in that advance and in that extra time.”
Wolverines quarterback JJ McCarthy said playoff frustration was on everyone’s minds as Michigan rallied for its drive after Alabama took a 20-13 lead and took advantage of all the momentum.
The Wolverines dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half, but only held a 13-10 lead at halftime.
“We didn’t get what we came here for the last two years, and that’s why we’re here today,” said McCarthy, who threw three touchdown passes, including a 4-yarder to Roman Wilson that capped the decisive moment. from Michigan eight times. game, 75-yard drive to tie the score with 1:38 left in regulation. “Nothing would stand in our way this time. We believed we were going to make it at that meeting, and so did everyone on our side.”
No play was bigger during Michigan’s game-tying drive than McCarthy’s short pass to Corum on fourth-and-2. Corum turned it into a 27-yard gain. An illegal blocking penalty set him back 10 yards, but the Wolverines had a first down and renewed life with just under three minutes left.
“When I saw Blake and I saw his eyes, it was like there was a demon in his eyes or something,” Keegan said.
On that critical fourth-down play, Corum noticed the Alabama cornerback slide in with the receiver, meaning Corum saw nothing but green grass.
“We had just run a little different version,” he said, “and they were there on the flats with me. And when we gestured on that fourth down and I collided and saw that corner there on our receiver, I thought, ‘I know he’s going to go with it.’ ‘, 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 momentum. I knew we were going to come out victorious,” the senior running back said.
Michigan’s defense still had to make a fourth-down stop in overtime when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was blocked at the 2-yard line. But Wolverines defensive tackle Kris Jenkins said it was the offense of Michigan that changed the tone of the game during those final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Those minutes won’t soon be forgotten by Michigan fans, who took over Pasadena on Monday and celebrated well into the night.
“They never back down, and that’s what we love about our offense, no matter what’s going on, no matter if the odds are against them, no matter if mistakes are made,” Jenkins said. “They will never back down in the most important moments. They will always stand firm, do what they do best, and that is the most important thing.
“They always try hard. It can be scary. It can make your heart pound while you’re on the bench. But you know they know they’ll take care of business.”
