MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) – Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald went to high school in Georgia. He’s a University of Georgia graduate. He once worked on the staff at Georgia under Mark Richt as a graduate assistant.
Cincinnati running back Jerome Ford spent two seasons carrying the ball for Alabama, scoring three touchdowns and honing his craft under coach Nick Saban.
And now they get to try to beat their old schools.
There are plenty of ties that bind for all four teams going into the College Football Playoff semifinals Friday, and the ones featuring Macdonald and Ford might be the best of the bunch. Macdonald will look to slow down Georgia – his alma mater – in the Orange Bowl. Ford is Cincinnati’s top rusher, set to play against Alabama at the Cotton Bowl.
“I’m looking down here at the microphone and it says Orange Bowl,” Macdonald said while meeting with reporters virtually on Tuesday morning. “And it’s kind of hard to believe that we’re here.”