Jermaine Burton, Isaiah Bond will be key for Crimson Tide offense against Michigan

The Alabama Crimson Tide is gearing up for the Rose Bowl against the undefeated Michigan Wolverines on New Year's Day, and the Tide offense will have its work cut out for it. After all, they're facing the best defense left in contention for a national championship.

Sure, the Georgia Bulldog defense the Tide faced in the SEC Championship was a challenge, but they were only the No. 10 defense in the country. Michigan? They're No. 2, behind only Penn State, and to further complicate things, they're elite against both the running and passing game.

Alabama's strong running game means the Tide hasn't had to be as balanced up until this point. Even without top rusher Jase McClellan, who missed the Georgia game after reaggravating a foot injury, the Tide features senior Roydell Williams and talented youngsters Jam Miller and Justice Haynes, as well as the dynamic running of quarterback Jalen Milroe.

But Michigan is top five in the country in both rushing and passing defense and if Alabama can't get its passing game going against a secondary ranked No. 2 in the country in passing yards allowed, the Wolverines will be able to focus on stopping the run.

Against the Bulldogs — pass defense ranked No. 12 — Milroe threw for less than 200 yards, which surely won't be enough to stress the Michigan defensive backs. After all, even the nation's top wide receiver, Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr., wasn't enough to take down the Wolverines, despite 118 yards and a touchdown.

Fortunately for Alabama, the Tide's two top receivers match up fairly well with Harrison's production and have the big-play potential to make a difference.

Jermaine Burton, who nabbed a tough contested catch for a score against his former team Georgia, and Isaiah Bond, who hauled in the last-minute miracle touchdown to take down rival Auburn, have combined for 79 catches, nearly 1,400 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year, as compared with Harrison's 14 scores and 1,200 yards on 67 catches. 

Outside of Harrison, Ohio State failed to produce another pass-catcher with more than 60 yards, and Harrison was largely limited because he was double-covered more than he had been in any other game this season.

Alabama should be able to exploit that tactic. With two talented targets, the Wolverines will have to pick their poison between Burton and Bond, which should create opportunities for Milroe to throw. And if the pass isn't there, Michigan likely will have leveraged significant manpower to stop the air attack, leaving Milroe room to run.

It won't be an easy task, but if Milroe's deep passes land in the hands of Bond or Burton a few times, it may be the key for Alabama to survive and advance to the title game.