Nick Saban walked into his office shortly before the scheduled 11:15 a.m. reveal time on Dec. 3. As he would admit on ESPN’s live College Football Playoff selection show, Saban couldn’t sleep much the night before.

He entered the Mal M. Moore Athletic Facility unsure of the Tide’s future, mustering just enough energy the night prior for a little dance with the team. Alabama had failed what Saban described as a “midterm” against Texas in September. But the turnaround behind quarterback Jalen Milroe was swift.

Alabama did enough to force, as CFP executive director Bill Hancock described it, “the toughest decision” the committee had ever made: The Tide was in over undefeated, ACC-champion Florida State. Sports talk shows were given enough content for a month. Politicians broke out threats of lawsuits and filed motions to right what they felt was a cosmic wrong. But the world kept turning and on Tuesday, Dec. 26, Alabama football held its first practice in California.

“It’s a great opportunity for our players. It’s a great challenge for them. But you’re not really owed anything when you play in these games. It’s like a one-game season when you’re playing in the playoffs, so we’ve got to put everything into it we can. And everybody’s working hard to try to do that,” Saban said on Dec. 18.

Ahead of the team’s introductory press conference at Disneyland, here’s how Alabama Michigan got here.

Shaky start

On Sept. 9, Alabama’s first test came against the Texas Longhorns. UT and former Saban assistant Steve Sarkisian delivered the worst home loss of the Saban era, a 10-point defeat that showed Alabama didn’t have the discipline or technique to hang with an elite team (It can meet Texas again in Houston should the No. 3 Longhorns beat No. 2 Washington.) Saban was questioned about the future of the dynasty, which he deflected, saying the team was searching for its standard every year.

It got worse a week later against South Florida. Alabama trailed the Bulls, a team that won one game a year ago, 3-0 after the first quarter. Milroe was benched in favor of Ty Simpson and Tyler Buchner. Saban later told ESPN he had promised each of them a chance to compete for the starting job, but Milroe would be named the starter officially when the team returned to Tuscaloosa from a rainy weekend in Tampa.

Alabama’s best was on display a week later against Ole Miss. Milroe led an 18-3 second-half rally, taking care of the ball and delivering a 33-yard touchdown to Jalen Hale. UA’s defense, led by Kevin Steele and assisted by Travaris Robinson, shut down Lane Kiffin and sent a message to the SEC.

Hitting a stride in late October

The Tide stomped Mississippi State on the road, Milroe beat Texas A&M in his home state and UA held off Arkansas. Questions about the offense’s sustainability were being answered with varying performances: Milroe ran for two touchdowns against Mississippi State and Jermaine Burton dominated against the Aggies.

“He’s playing at an elite level, and you can see the improvement throughout the season. Just really seems like he hit an inflection point there right before the halfway mark,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said of Milroe. ” … He’s playing really well within the system. They’ve designed some great stuff for him.”

Yet, Alabama’s struggles came with consistency. A slow second quarter in College Station and a poor second half against the Razorbacks at home led to one-score wins over teams Alabama was better than. It set the stage for an interesting set of rivalry games.

Retaking the SEC

Multiple UA players have identified the opening drive out of halftime against Tennessee on Oct. 21 as what unlocked the team’s potential. Alabama trailed by two scores and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and co. decided they would take a shot play to Isaiah Bond and within 41 seconds, Milroe found a wide-open Bond taking it in from 46 yards out. The Tide beat the Volunteers 34-20, not allowing a point in the second half.

A similar structure played out against LSU. Jayden Daniels, the Heisman Award winner set a career-best 163 yards rushing, throwing for 200 more yards and two touchdowns. Yet, in part due to a concussion suffered by Daniels late in the third quarter, LSU scored only once in the second half, giving Alabama another marquee win.

In Atlanta against Georgia in the SEC title game, Alabama was bulldozed on the first drive to give the two-time defending champ Bulldogs momentum. Linebacker Deontae Lawson noted a couple of the younger players on Alabama’s roster were “starstruck.” But again, they settled. Georgia wouldn’t score until the fourth quarter and ultimately fell short in its comeback.

On Dec. 14, Alabama hired former Michigan staffer George Helow as a “special assistant” to Saban for the postseason. Helow was on Harbaugh’s staff in 2022 as a linebackers coach.

The Wolverines route

It’s been a controversial season in Ann Arbor, Mich. Harbaugh was suspended for six of No. 1 Michigan’s 13 games. The first came via a self-imposed ban as the NCAA looked into possible recruiting infractions. Harbaugh missed Michigan’s opening three games before receiving another punishment, this time from the Big Ten, as a result of Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal. Former analyst Connor Stalions was fired in November, along with linebackers coach Chris Patridge.

On the field, Michigan wasn’t out of the top three in the Associated Press top 25 all year. Two of its final three wins without Harbaugh came on the road, Penn State and Maryland. The last at home against Ohio State, a 30-24 thriller. Michigan beat down Iowa, 26-0, in its conference championship to take the top spot in the final CFP poll.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].