Michigan football's top focus in 'money game' Rose Bowl vs. Alabama: QB Jalen Milroe

For the first time in nearly 26 years, Michigan football is the nation's No. 1 team, with the Wolverines jumping to the top of whichever measure you prefer: US LBM Coaches Poll, Associated Press poll or College Football Playoff seedings.

The Wolverines aren't exactly feeling the love, however, at least according to running back Blake Corum.

When he spoke Thursday following one of his team's final practices prior to Christmas, the senior pointed out few have treated the Wolverines as favorites since the first weekend in December.

"They flipped it from the jump, as soon as they found out we were playing Alabama," Corum said. "But we're going in, like I said last time, as the top dog, the No. 1 team in the nation and we're going to treat it as such."

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It would seem, at least in part, that Jim Harbaugh's 13-0 Michigan squad isn't seen as an overwhelming favorite because its CFP semifinal features a matchup in the Rose Bowl with No. 4 Alabama. Although this year's iteration of the Crimson Tide is 12-1, Alabama is arguably the greatest program of the past two decades and is led by Nick Saban, arguably the top coach in the sport's history.

But maybe it's not just the specter of Alabama: As fifth-year senior captain Mike Sainristil observed Thursday, this isn't the first time U-M has been seen as the team with something to prove.

"For many reasons," he said. "Our schedule wasn't the best, coach (Sherrone) Moore stepping in and doing what he did, and even then, that wasn't good enough. So we don't care about that, we just want to prove we are who we say we are, not what anyone else thinks of us."

It was a familiar theme this week, as 10 Wolverines were made available to the media; each did his best to explain how the team has been tested this season.

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How the offense faced three of the top five defenses (and another of the top five — Michigan itself — in practice) over its final four games. How the defense faced (and somewhat contained) Heisman Trophy finalist wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. All despite playing without Harbaugh for half of its regular-season games.

And yet, there are tests to come.

One key? The Wolverines' playmakers on the edges against Alabama's secondary.

J.J. McCarthy threw two pick-sixes in last year's CFP loss to TCU, setting the bar low for an improvement in the passing game. That game, though, also set the stage for Roman Wilson's breakout senior year; against the Horned Frogs, he had five catches, 122 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Against the Crimson Tide, however, McCarthy and Wilson may have a harder time finding that type of room.

Wilson and fellow senior Cornelius Johnson will be working against Terrion Arnold and Kool-Aid McKinstry, a pair of cornerbacks projected to go in the first round of April's NFL draft. But Corum sees that challenge as a bonus.

"That's what you want, that's a money game," Corum said. "That's the way I look at it, this whole game is a money game."

But no matchup tops the one on the other side of the ball: The threat of mobile quarterback Jalen Milroe against the Wolverines' defenders.

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Reserve quarterback Alex Orji has attempted to simulate Milroe on the scout team; the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder —who ranks No. 1 in strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert's KPI metric measuring players' athleticism — has reportedly done it well.

A different problem, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said, is finding a group of 350-pound bodies to simulate the Tide's offensive line. Getting the focus set is yet another challenge for U-M defenders such as Kenneth Grant.

"Just the fine details," the defensive tackle explained. "Trying to get everything right, so in-game, it's that much easier."

Regardless of the offensive line, defending Milroe won't be easy. The 6-2, 220-pounder threw for more than 2,700 yards, completed 65.5% of his attempts and accounted for 35 touchdowns — 23 passing and another 12 rushing.

Still, the U-M defense is ranked No. 1 in the nation in points allowed (9.46 per game) and No. 2 in yards allowed (239.7 per game); more importantly, one of the Wolverines' main points of emphasis — and improvement — this season has been communication.

Sainristil said the unit knows it can't expect to shutdown everything Alabama does, but it can do its best to be on the same page and make the Tide's flow down the field as difficult as possible.

"Our D-line complements our back end, our back end complements our front end," Sainristil. "We just have to be able to make sure whatever we're playing, zone or man, everybody is doing their part of the defense and not trying to do anybody else's job."

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The Wolverines cited only one opposing QB this season as being remotely close to Milroe: Maryland's Taulia Tagovailoa. But Milroe, according to the highlights U-M coaches and players have seen, is more involved in the run game, rather then just using his legs to extend plays (which is a nightmare in itself).

Milroe's dual threat is hardly a secret, but even so, he's not who is pushing the Wolverines against their critics.

Because on a New Years Day afternoon in Pasadena, California, the ball will be kicked off, and the Wolverines know they'll need to demonstrate what they've learned not just as the nation's No. 1 team, but as a three-time CFP participant.

"We're already motivated just to get over the hump after being there; to be a third time, that's all the motivation we need," Corum said. "At the end of the day, the game is the game; it doesn't matter if you're No. 1 or No. 4, you have to play each other."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football has Jalen Milroe on its mind ahead of CFP semifinal