And the No. 1 Wolverines got a daunting matchup for the 110th edition of the Granddaddy of Them All.

Top-seeded Michigan will face Southeastern Conference champion Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal to be played as the Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1.

The CFP committee announced the lineup for the final four-team playoff Sunday, and the unbeaten Wolverines (13-0) — who got to choose their semifinal destination as the No. 1 seed — booked another bowl appearance in the Southern California sun against the Crimson Tide (12-1).

Jim Harbaugh’s team is finally making its long-anticipated return to Pasadena, which has been Michigan’s home for so many New Year’s Days in the past. The Wolverines will be playing in their 21st Rose Bowl, more than any school except USC, but Michigan hasn’t been to the archetypal bowl game since 2007.

“It’s going to take all those days, all those hours, all those minutes,” Harbaugh told ESPN. “We played Alabama before. Haven’t beaten them. We know it’s going to take our best. We’re going to have to play really good, but before that, we’re going to have to plan. We’re going to have to practice and get in a position to execute against really good football teams.”

Michigan’s fans hope the Rose Bowl berth is the penultimate step in a tumultuous season featuring incredible play, but also two suspensions for Harbaugh. The Wolverines haven’t faltered amid the chaos, even ascending to No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time in 26 seasons earlier Sunday after shutting out Iowa in the Big Ten championship game.

Michigan is in the CFP for the third time, looking for its first victory. The Wolverines are two wins away from their first national title since 1997.

But Michigan drew a formidable foe in the fourth-seeded Crimson Tide, which is coming off a spectacular upset victory over No. 1 Georgia in the SEC title game on Saturday. Alabama returned to the CFP and earned its eighth appearance in the Rose Bowl by ending the Bulldogs’ 29-game winning streak.

Alabama coach Nick Saban said he had a long Saturday night while hoping his Tide would earn a spot in college football’s final four.

“I didn’t sleep a lot, because there’s a lot of good teams out there,” Saban told ESPN. “It’s unfortunate that some good team had to get left out, but I really think our team earned the right to be here.”

The Crimson Tide played in the COVID-19 version of the Granddaddy just three years ago, routing Notre Dame 31-14 in a CFP semifinal “Rose Bowl” game played in Arlington, Texas, because of California’s safety restrictions. Alabama has been to the Rose Bowl more times than any school not in the Big Ten or the Pac-12.

Alabama’s previous Rose Bowl Game appearance was in 1946, although Saban’s Crimson Tide also won the national championship at the Rose Bowl in January 2010 when they beat Texas in the BCS title game.

Alabama is led by a top-notch defense and by quarterback Jalen Milroe, who has settled into the starting job. He passed for 192 yards and two touchdowns without an interception while beating Georgia.

“He’s got it,” Harbaugh said of Milroe. “He’s got that ‘it’ factor. Surrounded by a lot of really superior athletes that are really well-coached and know what they’re doing. That’s a vital, critical combination.”

Alabama is in the CFP for the eighth time in its 10 years of existence. After missing out on the playoff last season and then losing to the Longhorns in the second game of this season, the Tide reverted to their peerless form and reeled off 11 consecutive victories, capped by their 27-24 victory over two-time defending national champion Georgia on Saturday.

The national championship game will be played Jan. 8 in Houston.

Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama were selected Sunday and Florida State became the first unbeaten Power Five conference champion to be excluded from the field.

Michigan will face Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Washington will play Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 and the winners will meet for the national championship Jan. 8 in Houston.

Before the CFP grows to 12 next year — an expansion that was delayed by a year because of infighting among the conference commissioners who manage the postseason system — the selection committee faced the toughest decision in the 10-year history of the format.

“Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks,” explained Boo Corrigan, the selection committee chairman who is also the athletic director at North Carolina State, Florida State’s Atlantic Coast Conference rival.

The Seminoles (13-0) lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury two weeks ago, but continued to win with a backup and then a third-string quarterback. The committee, though, is instructed to judge teams for what they are heading into the playoff and decided FSU without Travis is not among the best four in the country.

“I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games. What is the point of playing games?” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said.

He added: “What happened today goes against everything that is true and right in college football. A team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a way to win doing whatever it took on the field was cheated today. It’s a sad day for college football.”

Travis is a sixth-year player whose development into one of the best quarterbacks in college football has fueled Florida State’s resurgence over the last three years.

“Devastated. heartbroken,” Travis posted on the social media platform X. “I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry.”

Whichever team was left out had a good argument to get in. That created unprecedented controversy and the committee passed over FSU to pick Alabama, which upset Georgia to win the Southeastern Conference championship, and Big 12 champion Texas, which beat the Crimson Tide on the road in September.

The SEC had never missed the playoff. Alabama, which is in for the eighth time, kept that streak alive. The Crimson Tide have won the playoff three times, most recently in 2020.

Texas would have been just the second Power Five conference champion with only one loss to be left out. Instead, the Longhorns will be making their first appearance in the CFP in their last season as a member of the Big 12. Texas moves to the SEC next year.

Texas and Alabama were ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, in the committee’s penultimate rankings and are now the first teams to jump from outside the top six in the second-to-last rankings into the playoff field. Georgia became the first team to enter championship weekend No. 1 and fail to make the field.

“We’ve never had a year with eight teams at the top as good as these are. And the five conference champions (ranked) one through five, we’ve never had it come out that way,” CFP executive director Bill Hancock said. “My feeling is it probably was the toughest (decision ever for the committee).”

Big Ten champion Michigan is making its third straight appearance in the CFP, still looking for its first playoff victory. The Wolverines, who have stayed unbeaten amid an NCAA investigation into allegations of in-person scouting and sign-stealing, are the favorites to win the national title, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Michigan, looking for its first national title since 1997, opened as a 1 1/2-point favorite against Alabama. The Tide have won six national titles under coach Nick Saban.

“We’re not going to go in there saying, ‘Oh, this is Alabama, a team that’s won and won and won and won and won. No. We’re that team,” Michigan running back Blake Corum told reporters.

Washington is in the CFP for the second time, breaking the Pac-12’s playoff drought after six years, and doing so the year before it leaves the conference for the Big Ten. The Huskies opened as a 4 1/2-point underdog to Texas and former Washington coach Steve Sarkisian. The two played last season in the Alamo Bowl and Washington won.

Georgia’s slim hopes of trying for a third consecutive national title also came to an end. The Bulldogs (12-1) had a 29-game winning streak snapped by the Crimson Tide, but leaving them out of the CFP didn’t seem nearly as controversial as snubbing the Seminoles — even in a system ripe for criticism.

In 2014, Ohio State, playing with its third-string quarterback, vaulted over Baylor and TCU and into the playoff with a Big Ten title game blowout of Wisconsin. The Big 12 teams still haven’t gotten over it, but the Buckeyes went on to win it all. Ohio State has been on the short end a couple of times, too, winning the Big Ten in 2017 and ’18 and not getting in. But this year, the committee faced a truly vexing problem.

Florida State, which was No. 4 in the previous CFP rankings, appeared to be on the way to its second playoff appearance in mid-November when Travis suffered a serious injury in the first quarter against North Alabama and was lost for the year.

The Seminoles beat rival Florida last week with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who then missed the ACC championship game against Louisville with a concussion. Florida State stayed unbeaten with a strong defensive performance, but scored only one touchdown.

“To eliminate them from a chance to compete for a national championship is an unwarranted injustice that shows complete disregard and disrespect for their performance and accomplishments. It is unforgivable,” Florida State athletic director Michael Alford said.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips, who was among conference leaders who helped slow down the expansion process by a year after the SEC’s plan to add Texas and Oklahoma was revealed in 2021, called leaving out the ‘Noles “unfathomable.”

“Their exclusion calls into question the selection process and whether the committee’s own guidelines were followed, including the significant importance of being an undefeated Power Five conference champion,” Phillips said.

As the ACC champion, Florida State will head to the Orange Bowl for a showdown with Georgia.

“It’s unfortunate that some good team had to get left out,” Saban said on ESPN, “but I really think that our team earned the right to be here.”

After one season as a walk-on linebacker, he switched positions, earned a scholarship in 2020, shared the team lead for sacks in 2021 and 2022, returned this year as a team captain, and wound up earning third-team all-conference honors.

It’s been quite a ride for the Hawkeyes’ vocal leader, and Evans believes he can help No. 16 Iowa exceed expectations once more on Saturday when his team plays No. 2 Michigan for the Big Ten championship.

“We love that narrative of being the underdog,” Evans said. “I don’t think anybody thought we were going to be in this situation after we lost 31-0 at Penn State. I said, ‘You know, we still have all of our goals in front of us. We can still win the Big Ten West and we can win the Big Ten championship.’ I know a lot of people kind of laughed at that, so we love being the underdog.”

The Hawkeyes (10-2, No. 16 CFP) certainly fit the model this week, winning the Big Ten West despite losing their starting quarterback against Penn State, changing kickers in their regular-season finale, and being unable to top the 20-point mark six times in their final eight games.

Michigan (12-0, No. 2 CFP), on the other hand, looks virtually unbeatable.

Two weeks after celebrating the program’s 1,000th win and one week after beating rival Ohio State for the third straight time, the Wolverines are chasing a school first — their third straight outright league title — and a second straight playoff bid.

How good are the Wolverines? They’ve won a school-record 24 consecutive conference games, lead the nation in scoring defense (10.3) and have J.J. McCarthy and Blake Corum, the Big Ten’s quarterback and running back of the year.

The result: Michigan enters the game in Indianapolis as a 22 1/2-point favorite in a contest where the over-under is 34 1/2 points, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Still, the Wolverines will take nothing for granted, even as coach Jim Harbaugh returns to the sideline following his second three-game suspension of this season, this one for allegedly stealing signs.

“It gets the hair sticking up on my arms, gets me ready to run through a wall,” Corum said, referring to Harbaugh’s presence. “I’ve definitely missed hearing that.”

Two years ago, the Hawkeyes faced a similar predicament when they last met the heavily favored Wolverines in Indianapolis. Michigan won that title game 42-3, and Evans hasn’t forgotten anything about that game.

It’s an experience he and his teammates don’t want to relive this weekend, even if nobody else believes in the Hawkeyes.

“We all remember at the facility how much we lost that game by,” Evans said. “Being the captain, it’s my duty and my job to let the guys know what that felt like, coming off the field losing by 39 points. And another thing is to make sure the guys understand we’re there to win a football game.”

Last season, an injured Corum watched the Wolverines capture the league crown from a California hotel room following knee surgery. This year, he’ll play a key role, and Corum can’t wait.

“I wanted to be there so bad, but everything happens for a reason, and look at me now,” the senior said.

Corum leads the FBS with a single-season school record of 22 rushing TDs, and his 53 career scoring runs are two short of Anthony Thomas’ school record (1997-2000).

Two years ago, Cade McNamara led Michigan to its first Big Ten title since 2004. On Saturday, he’ll be watching from the other sideline as part of the Hawkeyes.

McNamara transferred after McCarthy took over as the Wolverines’ starter last season. But the Iowa quarterback suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 5. Former Wisconsin quarterback Deacon Hill replaced McNamara, who has some inside information about his former team — even if coach Kirk Ferentz won’t listen.

“I don’t even want to know because all it does is clutter your mind,” Ferentz said. “All that does is screw up my thought process. Quite frankly, I’d rather just look at the film.”

Michigan will be missing one key player, all-conference guard Zak Zinter, who had surgery last Saturday after breaking his leg in two places against Ohio State. Trente Jones is expected to replace Zinter. Jones made nine starts in five seasons as an extra offensive lineman.

“What an opportunity for Trente to show what he can do,” Harbaugh said.

This is the final meeting of the Big Ten division champs for the conference title. Divisional play is being scrapped next season when four Pac-12 teams join the league, and the top two teams will meet in the championship.

Wisconsin won the first two games, representing the Leaders Division, and Michigan State gave the Legends Division its first title in 2013. If Michigan wins Saturday, the East Division champ will be 10-0 since the conference went to its current East-West format.

Partridge posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he steered clear of making any public statements since he was fired 11 days earlier because he did not want to distract from the team’s goal of an unbeaten regular season.

Michigan beat Ohio State on Saturday 30-24 to clinch a third straight trip to the Big Ten championship game with its third consecutive victory against the Buckeyes. With a victory against No. 18 Iowa on Saturday in Indianapolis, No. 2 Michigan will secure a third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance.

Partridge said in his post that reporting on why he was let go has been inaccurate.

“Additionally, at no point did I destroy any evidence related to the ongoing investigation,” he said.

Partridge was fired the day before Michigan played Maryland, and the day after, the school dropped a lawsuit against the Big Ten that challenged the conference’s three-game suspension of head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh was not with the team for games against Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State.

The former staffer at the center of the investigation, Connor Stalions, resigned two weeks ago. He is accused of purchasing tickets to scout future Michigan opponents and sending people to those games to digitally record teams signaling in their plays. In-person scouting is banned by the NCAA, which is trying to determine how organized the scheme was and who knew about it.

Partridge said a termination letter he received on Nov. 17 from athletic director Warde Manuel explained he was fired because he failed to abide by a university directive not to discuss an ongoing NCAA investigation with anyone associated with the Michigan Football Program.

“While I am extremely disappointed in the University’s decision to terminate my employment, their decision does not change my continued love and support of Coach Jim Harbaugh, the coaches, and the players of Team 144 as they continue their quest for a National Championship,” Partridge said.

This was Partridge’s first season of his second stint at Michigan.

He previously worked for Harbaugh from 2016 to 19 before leaving for Mississippi. He was initially hired to be the team’s director of player personnel before being promoted to assistant coach for four years during his first stint with the Wolverines.

No rivalry has produced more games matching Associated Press-ranked teams (No. 49 on Saturday), top-10 matchups (26), and top-five games (13).

The Game is filled with lore and legends and thrilling performances.

Even before the second-ranked Buckeyes and third-ranked Wolverines kick off Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the 119th meeting will be historic.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will not be on the sideline as he serves the final game of a suspension handed down by the Big Ten for an alleged in-person scouting and sign-stealing scheme that is under investigation by the NCAA.

The animosity between the heated rivals has probably never been higher, and the stakes are massive with Big Ten and national championship implications. One day it will make the list of the six most memorable Ohio State-Michigan games (in chronological order).

A winter storm swept through Columbus, Ohio, covering the field with snow and dropping temperature into the teens for the game on Nov. 25, 1950. The weather was bad enough that canceling the game was considered. That would have given No. 8 Ohio State the trip to the Rose Bowl.

“One of the worst days for football we’ve ever had,” a broadcaster said as the game began.

They played, and the teams slipped and slid through 45 punts and a total of three first downs. Michigan scored a touchdown and a safety, and Ohio State a field goal. All came off botched punts.

The Wolverines pulled the 9-3 upset and went to the Rose Bowl. The loss was the fourth straight for the Buckeyes under coach Wes Fesler, who resigned soon after. Ohio State hired Woody Hayes, who went on to become the winningest coach in school history.

No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Michigan were unbeaten when they met in 1973 at the height of what is known as the 10-Year War in the rivalry between Hayes and Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, his protege.

A 10-10 tie played on a rain-soaked field produced unforgettable drama — Ohio State players famously swarmed the M Club banner before kickoff — and controversy. The Big Ten only sent its champion to the postseason at the time. To determine which team got the Rose Bowl bid, Big Ten athletic directors voted, and Ohio State won. Schembechler was furious and never fully got over being snubbed.

The theme of The Game in the mid-1990s was Michigan ruining Ohio State’s season and making life miserable for Buckeyes coach John Cooper (2-10-1 vs. the Wolverines). In 1995, No. 2 and unbeaten Ohio State’s heart was broken by one of the greatest individual performances in the history of the sport: Tim Biakabutuka ran for 313 yards against the Buckeyes, and No. 18 Michigan won 31-23.

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Michigan in 2006 came with a spot in the BCS championship game on the line. The buildup was enormous — and then the day before the game, Schembechler died unexpectedly at 77.

The game lived up to the hype and played out like nothing Woody and Bo would have recognized during their battles. Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and the Buckeyes traded big plays with the Wolverines. Ohio State won 42-39 and played for the national championship.

There was a debate about whether the two should have been rematched for the national title. That didn’t happen and that BCS title game didn’t work out well for the Buckeyes against Florida, but Ohio State and Jim Tressel were about to go on a long run of dominating the Michigan rivalry.

Urban Meyer took over for Tressel in 2012 at Ohio State, and Michigan was mired in mediocrity in the post-Lloyd Lloyd era.

Michigan hired former star quarterback Jim Harbaugh as coach to turn around the program in 2015, and quickly, he had the Wolverines in position to win the Big Ten title in 2016.

That year, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan played the first overtime game in the history of the series, and the Wolverines took a three-point lead on their first possession.

The Buckeyes had a fourth-and-1 on their possession, and Meyer went for it instead of kicking for a tie. J.T. Barrett just barely made the line to gain, and the spot was upheld on review. Moments later, Curtis Samuel scored a walk-off touchdown, and Harbaugh said he was “bitterly disappointed with the officiating” after the 30-27 loss.

By 2021, Ohio State had won eight straight and 14 of 15 against Michigan. The Game was canceled in the 2020 pandemic season, prompting suggestions that the struggling Wolverines were ducking the Buckeyes.

Harbaugh faced enormous criticism for not being able to beat Ohio State. That ended on a cold day two years ago amid light snow in Ann Arbor. Michigan bullied Ohio State 42-27 and went on to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoff.

Dellenger reported that the agreement is not finalized and must be approved by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.

The looming suspension and resolution are the result of an NCAA investigation into Harbaugh and other members of the football coaching staff. Enforcement officials alleged that Harbaugh was dishonest in initial meetings with investigators, but Harbaugh maintained he was never purposefully dishonest.

Per the NCAA, the punishment Harbaugh is facing for lying would be greater than the punishment for the recruiting violations. Last year, the NCAA cited Michigan with four Level II violations, which are defined as “less than a substantial or extensive recruiting, competitive or other advantage.”

Lying to investigators, on the other hand, is a Level I violation, which is the most severe on the NCAA’s scale. Those violations could carry a six-game suspension and notable recruiting restrictions.

Harbaugh is not the only Michigan coach facing punishment. Dellenger reported that former Wolverines defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, now the defensive coordinator for Jim’s brother, John, with the Baltimore Ravens, is expected to get a one-year show-cause penalty. The penalty would make it harder for Macdonald to return to the college ranks.

Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore and tight ends coach Grant Newsome are also expected to face sanctions, Dellenger reported.

The Wolverines’ open the season on Sept. 2 and their first four games are at home. Three of them are against Group of Five teams – East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green – ahead of their Big Ten opener against Rutgers on Sept. 23. The team is coming off a 13-win season in which it won the Big Ten title and reached the College Football Playoff.