What Jim Harbaugh said about Alabama after Citrus Bowl loss

Alabama may not have made the College Football Playoff, but it still had a strong season.

The Crimson Tide notched their 11th win of the year on Wednesday, as they ended the season with a 35-16 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. Alabama scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to pull away for the victory.

After the game, Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh complimented the Crimson Tide during his press conference.

“I think their level of excellence has been at the highest level,” Harbaugh told the media. “I think Coach [Nick] Saban deserves a great share of that credit, along with the program that they’ve built. It’s at the highest level.”

Here’s more of what Harbaugh said about Alabama following the Citrus Bowl:

• On Alabama’s receivers: “It’s an impressive group. Yeah, I would have to say that is as impressive group as you’re going to ever see. They’re fast but they also made the contested catches, made some great catches, ran some tremendous routes and they were able to get behind us two or three times.”
• On difference in game: “Their ability to create the big play was critical in the game, and their ability to keep us out of the end zone and through the drives. We had long drives and settled for field goals.”
• On Alabama’s defense: “They started cutting our edge. That jammed up a few of the outside running plays. … We didn’t make enough plays, keep enough drives going. We were backed up. The 1-yard line, I think we came out, got the ball out, we ended up getting a field goal. The time we were on the 4, drove it all the way to the 40. So there was some field position.”

Jake Rill

Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.