If there’s one game this postseason outside of the New Year’s Six that everyone is looking forward to watching, Wednesday’s clash between Alabama and Michigan in the Citrus Bowl is it. Two national brands are going head-to-head in Orlando on New Year’s Day.

Tuesday, Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban met with the media to preview the upcoming matchup. Harbaugh, who will experience his first game against Alabama, said he’s fired up and ready for the game to kick off. He also gave plenty of praise to the Crimson Tide and Saban building the premier program in college football.

“There’s just a lot of excitement to play an iconic program like Alabama,” Harbaugh said. “Coach Saban, his staff have really set the bar. Elite program, great football team and it’s a big challenge for us. But a great opportunity for our season, this 2019 season, and I feel good now that the game’s getting close to kickoff.”

“We’re fired up to play, we’re ready to go and kickoff approaches, and it’s a tremendous opportunity for our team.”

An Alabama-Michigan matchup in the postseason would’ve probably had many expecting a College Football Playoff showdown. But the season didn’t go quite the way either team anticipated. Michigan got off to a rocky start offensively and Alabama dealt with a laundry list of injuries throughout the year.

The Citrus Bowl may not have been where either team wanted to end up, but now both squads have a chance to notch a marquee victory to close out the 2019 season.