ORLANDO, Fla. -- Jerry Jeudy could have sat out Alabama's bowl game and still almost certainly would have been a first-round draft pick.
He played instead -- and if this was his finale, his stock likely soared.
Mac Jones threw three touchdown passes, Jeudy became the first Alabama player to top 200 receiving yards in a bowl game, and the No. 13 Crimson Tide topped No. 14 Michigan 35-16 on Wednesday in the Citrus Bowl.
"I've played football all my life," said Jeudy, the junior who was the game's MVP pick. "I couldn't just sit out there and watch my team play. ... I love playing football, so I just came out here and competed with my brothers."
Jones connected with Jeudy for an 85-yard score on Alabama's first snap, and DeVonta Smith and Miller Forristall added touchdown grabs in the second half for the Crimson Tide (11-2), which trailed 16-14 at the break. Najee Harris ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns for Alabama.
Jeudy finished with six catches for 204 yards. His previous career-high for yards was 147 set last season against Missouri, and the Alabama bowl record had stood for more than a half-century -- Ray Perkins had 178 yards against Nebraska in the 1967 Sugar Bowl.
"Certainly, he used this opportunity to showcase his ability so it probably even enhanced his opportunities at the next level," said Alabama Coach Nick Saban, whose team outscored Michigan 21-0 after halftime. "Very, very proud of our team."
Jones -- who took over as Alabama's starter when Tua Tagovailoa was lost for the season with an injury in November -- completed 16 of 25 passes for 327 yards.
Shea Patterson completed 17 of 37 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown for Michigan (9-4), which dropped its fourth consecutive bowl game. Quinn Nordin kicked three field goals for the Wolverines, including a school-record-tying 57-yarder to end the first half to give Michigan the lead.
"It was a hard-fought game," Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh said. "Congratulations to Alabama. I thought both teams played extremely hard."
The Wolverines have dropped 16 consecutive road or neutral-site games against teams ranked No. 15 or higher in the AP poll, including all 10 under Harbaugh. The last time the Wolverines won such a game was Jan. 3, 2012, over then-No. 11 Virginia Tech.
The Crimson Tide had two touchdown drives of 90 seconds or less -- Jeudy's score on Alabama's first play and a long go-ahead touchdown grab by Smith early in the third quarter. They were quick-strike all season long, with 22 TD drives taking 1:30 or less and 38 TDs coming in 2:00 or less.
And the last of those was the one that put this game away for Alabama with 10:01 remaining.
Facing third and 11 from its own 8, Jones connected with Jeudy for 14 yards. On the next snap, Jones and Jeudy hooked up for 58 more yards. And the next snap was a 20-yard scoring pass to a wide-open Forristall.
It was the 12th bowl or playoff-game win for Saban. That tied him with Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most in school history. And the Crimson Tide won their 27th consecutive game when allowing less than 40 points.
Michigan 10 6 0 0 -- 16
Alabama 7 7 7 14 -- 35
First Quarter
BAMA--Jeudy 85 pass from M.Jones (Bulovas kick), 13:47.
MICH--Eubanks 7 pass from Patterson (Nordin kick), 7:06.
MICH--FG Nordin 36, :09.
Second Quarter
MICH--FG Nordin 42, 7:16.
BAMA--N.Harris 9 run (Bulovas kick), 3:32.
MICH--FG Nordin 57, :00.
Third Quarter
BAMA--D.Smith 42 pass from M.Jones (Bulovas kick), 13:30.
Fourth Quarter
BAMA--Forristall 20 pass from M.Jones (Bulovas kick), 10:01.
BAMA--N.Harris 2 run (Bulovas kick), :26.
MICH BAMA
First downs 23 20
Rushes-yards 43-162 30-153
Passing 233 327
Comp-Att-Int 17-37-2 16-25-0
Return Yards 120 36
Punts-Avg. 5-36.4 6-42.3
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-61 5-25
Time of Possession 34:47 25:13
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Michigan, Charbonnet 13-84, Haskins 18-61, Bell 1-9, Patterson 8-4, Peoples-Jones 1-2, G.Jackson 2-2. Alabama, N.Harris 24-136, B.Robinson 3-16, Jeudy 1-1, Ruggs 1-0, M.Jones 1-0.
PASSING--Michigan, Patterson 17-37-2-233. Alabama, M.Jones 16-25-0-327.
RECEIVING--Michigan, G.Jackson 4-57, Bell 4-53, N.Collins 4-48, Eubanks 2-14, Peoples-Jones 1-34, Haskins 1-19, Sainristil 1-8. Alabama, Jeudy 6-204, D.Smith 3-56, Forristall 3-36, Ruggs 2-27, Waddle 1-7, J.Billingsley 1-(minus 3).
MISSED FIELD GOALS--None.
Sports on 01/02/2020