Reactions to Michigan’s matchup with Alabama in the Citrus Bowl

It’s not clear if Michigan “wanted” ‘Bama, but they’ve got them. The Wolverines will be matched up with the Crimson Tide in the Citrus Bowl Jan. 1.

It has been a down year in Alabama football standards, with the Crimson Tide missing out on the College Football Playoff after losing to rival Auburn in its final game of the regular season and No. 1 LSU earlier in the year.

Still, Alabama and Nick Saban figure to be heavy favorites heading into the contest. While Michigan will likely use it as a building block for the 2020 campaign, the game has revenge game and angry Nick Saban written all over it.

Some have even begun saying prayers for the Wolverines.

Regardless, a throw down between two prestigious programs should make for a good drawing attendance-wise. Putting Jim Harbaugh toe-to-toe against Saban should also be intriguing.

In a teleconference presser Sunday, Saban referred to Harbaugh as a “great coach” and Harbaugh said Saban and ‘Bama have “set the bar for college football.”

The game has already garnered the interest of the Twitter-verse. Here is what some other national outlets and college football fans are saying about the match up.

One question on the minds of Wolverines fans is likely how Michigan — coming off a 56-27 blowout loss to rival Ohio State — will fair against an Alabama team that has been a perennial power for the past decade.

The potential for Alabama players to forgo the bowl game in order to prevent any chance of injury is very real, and it’s already known ‘Bama will be without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. But the early feeling is that Michigan will come into the contest as an underdog.

The game will be at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN.