Michigan uses goal line stand to top Alabama in OT for thrilling CFP semifinal win

PASADENA, Calif. — The Rose Bowl on Monday evening defied axioms of life and college football alike. The first: that cheaters never win. The second: that Alabama always wins. Michigan laid waste to those as it advanced to the national title game amid the cloud of a sign stealing scandal, defeating the Crimson Tide 27 20 in overtime — the program’s greatest victory since it last won a national championship in 1997.

The Wolverines will face the winner of Texas and Washington in the title game next Monday in Houston. Where Michigan had lost a shootout of a semifinal last year in the Fiesta Bowl, it succeeded this time around in dramatic fashion, with J.J. McCarthy leading a late scoring drive to tie the game before the Wolverines won in overtime on a dramatic stand from the three yard line..