PASADENA, Calif. — Blake Corum rushed for a 17-yard touchdown on the second snap of overtime, and top-seeded Michigan advanced to its first College Football Playoff championship game with a 27-20 victory over fourth-seeded Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday.
Michigan’s defense ended only the second overtime game in the 110 editions of the Rose Bowl when Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe was emphatically stopped for no gain when he attempted to sneak up the middle on fourth down from the Michigan 3.
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines (14-0) will play for their school’s first national title since 1997 against Washington or Texas on Jan. 8 in Houston, but only after a late comeback and a hair-raising finish to the Granddaddy of Them All.
Roman Wilson made a 4-yard TD catch with 1:34 left in regulation for the Wolverines, who hadn’t scored in the second half until that gritty 75-yard drive led by J.J. McCarthy.
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Corum then needed only two snaps to score in the first overtime period, breaking tackles and spinning wildly on his second carry into the end zone.
Milroe connected with Jermaine Burton at the Michigan 3 on third-and-goal in overtime, and Alabama leaned on its quarterback’s athleticism on the final play call — but Milroe ran straight into a Michigan defense that was waiting for him.
Kyusung Gong/AP
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is chased by Michigan cornerback Josh Wallace (12) during the second half of the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif.
Jase McClellan rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns for Alabama (12-2), which fell heartbreakingly short of the chance to play for Nick Saban’s seventh national title at the school. The Tide led 20-13 on Will Reichard’s 52-yard field goal with 4:41 to play, but their defense couldn’t preserve the lead.
McCarthy passed for 221 yards and three touchdowns for Michigan, earning the offensive player of the game award. Milroe passed for 116 yards and rushed for 63 for the Tide, whose 11-game winning streak ended.
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Mark J. Terrill/AP
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy throws as he is hit by Alabama defensive end Justin Eboigbe during the second half of the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif.
The Alabama defense also couldn’t step up at key moments to stop Corum, who caught an early TD pass and then rushed for 83 yards, capped by his overtime heroics. Corum has been at Michigan for three straight appearances in the CFP, but he barely played two years ago when the Wolverines were routed by Georgia, and he was injured when they were upset by TCU last year.
The Wolverines also survived a handful of potentially disastrous mistakes that undercut their long stretches of superiority in this matchup — including a muffed punt by Jake Thaw, who was tackled at the Michigan 1 with 43 seconds left in regulation and barely avoided what would have been one of the most spectacular safeties in football history.
Michigan is the sixth straight No. 1 seed to win its semifinal game in the CFP’s 10 years of existence.
Michigan is one win away from reaching the primary goal set by Harbaugh when he returned to his alma mater in 2015 after his meteoric coaching career flamed out with the 49ers. The former Wolverines quarterback was determined to restore his school to national prominence and dominance, but he won no Big Ten titles in his first six seasons amid frustration from a fan base that expected things to happen sooner.
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Mark J. Terrill/AP
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh holds the Rose Bowl trophy while standing next to quarterback J.J. McCarthy after a win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif.
Michigan has been elite since 2021, winning three straight conference titles and advancing to three playoffs. The Wolverines lost their first two semifinals, but they’ve finally reached their sport’s biggest stage after their second consecutive unbeaten regular season.
And they did it this season with Harbaugh serving a pair of three-game suspensions — the second over allegations of sign-stealing and in-game scouting.
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A European theater chain, Kinepolis Group, is acquiring the Troy-based Emagine Entertainment.
The deal is valued at $105 million and is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.
A European theater chain is buying Troy-based Emagine Entertainment.
Kinepolis Group, a Belgian company, announced on Tuesday, Nov. 4, that it plans to acquire 14 Emagine theaters in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin and finalize the $105 million deal by the end of the year.
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The deal is for 100% of Emagine’s business, according to a news release, and the theaters will continue to operated under the Emagine brand name.
Crain’s Detroit reported that Glantz and his family own about 36% of Emagine.
Not all of the 28 theater locations listed on Emagine’s website are included in the deal, as about half are operated by third parties.
The Kinepolis Group previously acquired the MJR Digital Cinemas chain in 2019 and continued to operate those theaters under the MJR brand.
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“Kinepolis has a reputation for operating exceptionally well-run cinemas both in Europe and in North America,” Glantz said in the news release. “Their commitment to providing guests with an unforgettable movie experience makes them the ideal suitor to continue the stewardship of Emagine into the future.”
Glantz was not available for additional comment Tuesday morning.
“With the acquisition of Emagine Entertainment, we are back on track with the execution of our expansion strategy since the pandemic,” Eddy Duquenne, CEO of Kinepolis Group, said in a statement. “We do this with a high-quality asset in a market where we have had positive experiences with our Kinepolis concepts. The location and size of the cinemas make them a valuable addition to the Group’s portfolio, allowing us to expand our presence in the US market and strengthen our national structure.”
The news release says Emagine’s theaters have about 6 million visitors a year and do nearly $129 million in revenue.
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Michigan theaters not included in the deal are The Riviera Cinema in Farmington Hills and Emagine Woodhaven, which operate under the Emagine brand but are managed by third parties through a brand licensing agreement, the news release says.
The theaters that are in the deal are:
Michigan
Emagine Canton
Emagine Royal Oak
Emagine Hartland
Emagine Birch Run
Emagine Saline
Emagine Novi
Emagine Macomb
Emagine Rochester Hills
Quality 10 Powered by Emagine (Saginaw)
Illinois:
Emagine Frankfort
Emagine Batavia
Indiana:
Emagine Noblesville
Emagine Portage
Wisconsin:
Check back to Freep.com for more on this developing story.
Michigan hockey freshman defenseman Henry Mews suffered a season-ending injury, the team announced Monday.
“University of Michigan defenseman Henry Mews has suffered a season-ending injury, prematurely ending his freshman season with the Wolverines,” a team spokesperson wrote in an email.
Early in the first period Saturday against Notre Dame, Mews took a knee-on-knee hit from Fighting Irish forward Sutter Muzzatti behind Michigan’s net. Mews laid on the ice for several seconds before he was able to get to the bench under his own power, unable to put much weight on his left leg. Mews immediately went down the tunnel and did not return to the game.
“Obviously you don’t want to lose a guy like that,” junior forward Nick Moldenhauer said Saturday postgame. “He’s an unbelievable player. But I think it just made us want to win that game even more for him. They injure one of your better D-men and power-play guys, you want to go out there and win it for him. That was just a little bit of extra fire for us to move forward.”
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Mews’ loss is enormous for the Wolverines. The Calgary Flames draft pick was central to Michigan’s early success this year. A dynamic offensive defenseman, Mews was a key puck-mover for the Wolverines and played the point on Michigan’s first-ranked power play. Through 10 games, he had nine points. The Wolverines’ depth will be tested to replace him and his production.
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If Michigan football is going to stay within striking distance of Ohio State going into its regular-season finale, it will have to do so without star running back Justice Haynes, it appears.
The junior is set to undergo surgery on his right foot this week, two sources familiar with the situation but granted anonymity since they’re not permitted to speak on the situation publicly, confirmed to the Free Press on Sunday, Nov. 2.
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The expectation around the program is that Haynes will use U-M’s bye week to rest, and sit against both Northwestern and Maryland, but he could be back in action against the Buckeyes on Nov. 29.
Haynes, who joined the program as an offseason transfer from Alabama, injured his foot late in the Wolverines’ 31-20 victory over Michigan State in East Lansing on Oct. 25. Against the Spartans, he ran for 152 yards and two touchdowns. Haynes was sidelined for U-M’s 21-16 victory over Purdue on Nov. 1 and was seen on the field wearing a boot on his right foot while riding a scooter.
Haynes has been a star for U-M in his first season in Ann Arbor, setting new career marks in carries (121), rushing yards (857), yards per carry (7.1) and touchdowns (10). In the six games he has finished, he has amassed at least 100 yards rushing and a touchdown.
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Haynes’ only other appearance for Michigan, against USC in October, featured 10 rushes for 51 yards before he left in the second quarter with an injury to his midsection. That kept him out of the following week’s win over Washington.
Without Haynes, the Wolverines will turn to Jordan Marshall, the redshirt freshman who has shined in Haynes’s absence.
Marshall has run 124 times for 729 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns. That includes three straight games with more than 100 yards – vs. Washington (133), Michigan State (110) and a career-high against Purdue (185) when he also scored all three touchdowns for the Wolverines.
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Michigan is off this week before hitting the road to face Northwestern on Nov. 15 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
