Alabama Crimson Tide faced a critical moment during the Rose Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines in overtime. Unfortunately, a perplexing play call from Coach Nick Saban led to a failed touchdown attempt. Quarterback Jalen Milroe was stuffed on a rush up the middle, leaving fans and analysts scratching their heads.
The play seemed to be an RPO (Run-Pass Option) gone awry. A low snap disrupted Milroe’s ability to look for running back Roydell Williams, who was running a route to his left. With no other viable options, Milroe had to take matters into his own hands and attempted to rush up the middle, where he encountered the Wolverines’ tenacious defense.
After the game, Saban didn’t mince words when discussing the ill-fated play call. He acknowledged that it was a “really bad call” simply because it didn’t succeed. Saban explained the sequence of events leading to the play and the timeout decisions.
“We called three plays,” Saban revealed. “One they called timeout, one we called timeout, and the last one that didn’t work. So, the fact that it didn’t work made it a really bad call.”
“The fact that it didn’t work made it a really bad call.” – Nick Saban on the Jalen Milroe QB draw on the final play of Alabama’s Rose Bowl loss to Michigan. #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/UnNYJHiBrT
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 2, 2024
Saban elaborated on the reasoning behind the call, mentioning that they had a “bad look” on the first play and that offensive coordinator Tommy Rees believed a quarterback run was the best option. However, the lack of proper execution ultimately led to the play’s failure.
While there was potential for success with a more accurate snap and a well-executed dump-off to Williams, Saban acknowledged that the play didn’t unfold as planned, ultimately deeming it a “bad call” with the game hanging in the balance.