On a night filled with roses featuring a clash of crimson, maize and blue, it’d be a couple of inches of green that would be the tipping point between Alabama and Michigan on Monday.

The 110th Rose Bowl Game was a beautiful mess, bookended with thrilling moments in the first and final minutes of regulation. It continued into an overtime period, where the No. 1-ranked Wolverines eventually bullied past the No. 4 Tide in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

But if not a bit of poor luck — in addition to a crumbling offensive line and defensive breakdown — Alabama would’ve been planning a trip to Houston. Here are two plays that’ll likely be forgotten on highlight reels, but could’ve drastically changed the outcome.

Why was Caleb Downs’ interception overturned?

Alabama almost executed a picture-perfect start. The defensive line flushed U-M quarterback J.J. McCarthy out of the pocket and to his right and he aimed downfield. It’s unclear if McCarthy was trying to throw the ball away or layer a pass between four bodies to hit Cornelius Johnson in front of their sideline. Yet, as the ball floated, freshman safety Caleb Downs caught it.

Only problem, Downs had stepped out of bounds earlier in the play as he drifted toward the Michigan receivers. He didn’t reestablish himself in time and Michigan caught a break.

“Yeah, I tried to toe-tap it,” Downs said postgame. “They said I was out. I didn’t really see it. We didn’t finish in the end, so.”

Alabama would force a punt three plays later, but in hindsight, the Tide needed as many short fields as possible against the Wolverines. The offense, hindered by low snaps and inconsistency, had 96 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 288 compared to Michigan’s 351.

The Tide’s first scoring drive came off a muffed punt by Semaj Morgan at the U-M 44-yard-line. Four runs later, Jase McClellan broke free into the endzone. Alabama wouldn’t score again until Will Reichard hit a 50-yard field goal with 14 seconds left in the first half.

Why was Michigan not called for a safety in the final minute of regulation?

Alabama had the ball with 1:34 left, plenty of time to get into range for Reichard, who had made two 50-plus kicks already. Instead, UA stalled near midfield and punter James Burnip was called upon to pin Michigan back.

Instead, Burnip nearly booted his way into Rose Bowl history. Michigan’s return team was in disarray, sending out a player seconds before the snap. Jake Thaw muffed his first return of the day, calling for a fair catch late and letting the ball bounce off him at the 5-yard-line. A swarm of Alabama players tackled Thaw into the endzone, throwing their hands up for a safety. Cries from the UA bench plead for the same.

Yet, Thaw was ruled to have possession and forward progress, marking the ball down at the 1-yard-line. The Wolverines managed a 1-yard gain with Corum and then had McCarthy take a knee. Alabama had called all its timeouts on Michigan’s game-tying drive and the game went to overtime, where Corum wouldn’t be stopped.

Alabama would have its own short-yardage issues in overtime.

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