Desmond Howard took a magnifying glass to the Rose Bowl that Michigan earned over Alabama on Tuesday’s edition of Get Up.

Outside of the special teams blunders, Howard said that Michigan was still the better team in the Rose Bowl. Michigan outlasted Alabama in overtime 27-20 and now moves on to the national title game.

“You take away the Michigan special teams miscues. I mean we’re talking about 2 muffed punts, we’re talking about a botched snap on an extra point attempt, and then we’re also talking about just a missed field goal,” said Howard. “You take away those and Michigan dominated Alabama in yesterday’s Rose Bowl. That’s pretty much the prevailing thought of many people who watched that game.”

The game was decided by which team had the better play out of its offensive and defensive lines. The defensive line kept Jalen Milroe and the offense in check. The Michigan offensive line gave JJ McCarthy time and did so without offensive lineman Zak Zinter.

“We thought it was going to be a game that came down to the trenches. Once you saw Michigan’s defense take over the way they did, especially in the first half. Then we say, ‘OK, things are even in the trenches.’ So to me, it goes to quarterback play. And Jalen Milroe, he got sacked 5 times in the first half, he took 15 drops, he was rushed 8 times, and he was sacked 5 times. That meant that Michigan’s front 7 dominated that first half,” said Howard. “And on the flip side, Michigan was winning the game despite the miscues, so offensively, their offensive line despite not having their best offensive lineman, Zak Zinter, consensus first-team All-American, they still came up with a game plan to slow down Alabama’s front in the first half.”

Alabama eventually made adjustments and started to comeback in the 2nd half. However, Michigan’s adjustments in the 4th quarter played a big role too.

“Now of course, like all great coaches and coaching staffs, Alabama, they made adjustments in the second half, and they looked great in the 3rd quarter and most of the 4th quarter,” said Howard. “But Michigan made adjustments in the 4th quarter, and that’s how they were able to prevail.”

Lastly, Howard praised coordinators Jesse Minter and Sherrone Moore for the jobs they did. The former Michigan wideout believes the whole identity of the defense changed when the Wolverines brought in Minter, who had previous experience with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens.

“So, when you talk about being outcoached, yeah, (Nick) Saban was outcoached by (Jim) Harbaugh, but Jesse Minter, who I’ve raved about, I told you guys their whole makeup of the defense changed when they started to hire NFL coaches,” said Howard. “And Jesse Minter is a guy who has NFL background in his coaching resume because he was with the Baltimore Ravens, he outcoached Tommy Rees. And then obviously Sherrone Moore, Jim Harbaugh, the way they called that offensive game, it was aggressive, and some coaches call it not to lose, they called the game to win.”

The Wolverines will face Washington in Houston for the national championship on Monday.