Photos: Michigan Football Unveils Its Rose Bowl Uniforms
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – DECEMBER 02: Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh celebrates winning the B1G Championship during the Big Ten Championship Game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Iowa Hawkeyes on December 02, 2023 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis,IN. (Photo by Jeffrey Brown/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
Michigan will pursue an elusive national title when facing Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
Following consecutive College Football Playoff semifinal losses, Jim Harbaugh will look to lead a difficult result at Pasadena on New Year’s Day. The 13-0 Wolverines enter as the No. 1 seed following a season rife with off-field turmoil.
On Thursday, Michigan offered a sneak peek of their uniforms for the big game. The school posted a photo and a video of a Rose Bowl patch getting sewn onto its signature maize and blue jerseys.
Michigan changed its preparation in hopes of earning a different outcome in its third straight playoff appearance.
Like in the last two years, the Wolverines didn’t practice for a full week after winning the Big Ten title. However, they’re now easing into a lighter workload rather than going full force for three weeks.
“Coach Harbaugh kinda knew that just because the last few years we didn’t win, so something had to change,” quarterback J.J. McCarthy said, per Tony Garcia of the Detroit Free Press. “He talked to other coaches around the country and stuff like that, try to figure out the best possible thing for us.”
Although the undefeated Wolverines are favored to beat Alabama and win the national championship, they’re still embracing the often-used “Nobody believes in us” narrative.
“We feel like we’re hungry, we feel like we’re the underdog,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said Tuesday, per The Michigan Insider’s Zach Shaw. “This is the Alabama Invitational. They’ve played in eight out of the 10 playoffs; they’ve won a bunch of them. The SEC has won four or five in a row. Let’s go. Let’s bring on the best, and let’s play them and see where we’re at.”
Michigan and Alabama will clash in a highly anticipated Rose Bowl matchup on Monday, Jan. 1 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN.