Nick Saban didn't have a spectacular game plan Saturday night.
He didn't need one.
Saban's Crimson Tide dominated the line on both sides of the ball, turned Denard Robinson into a pocket passer and walked out of Dallas with an easy 41-14 victory over Michigan in the Cowboys Classic.
"Obviously, we didn't play Michigan football, and that bothers our team and it bothers our coaches," Brady Hoke said at his postgame press conference. "We didn't tackle well enough on defense and we didn't control the line of scrimmage on offense."
Alabama scored the game's first 31 points, thanks to an offensive line that ripped open holes for T.J. Yeldon and Alabama's endless supply of running backs. Yeldon finished with 111 yards and a touchdown in his college debut, while the Crimson Tide finished with 231 yards as a team.
On the other side of the ball, the Crimson Tide's defense kept Robinson pinned inside. He only carried the ball twice in the first half, and threw two key interceptions - one that was returned deep into Michigan territory and another that was taken back for a touchdown.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Hoke said. "We've got a lot of things to correct."
Robinson struggled with Michigan missing two key offensive players. None of Michigan's tailbacks were able to step up in the absence of suspended Fitzgerald Toussaint, as Vincent Smith and Thomas Rawls combined for just 41 yards on 19 carries. Top receiver Roy Roundtree did play, less than a month after a knee surgery, but didn't catch a pass until the final six minutes of the game.
With Roundtree ineffective, Robinson looked early and often for converted quarterback Devin Gardner, but he looked like someone playing a new position, dropping several passes. He did catch a 44-yard TD pass late in the third quarter when Alabama star cornerback Dee Milliner fell down, but that was his only reception of the game.
In the second half, Michigan started using Robinson as their main runner -- his natural role -- and he gained 23 yards on five carries before injuring his back trying to reach for a first down. Robinson returned for the next drive, but stuck mainly to passing for the rest of the night. He finished with 27 yards rushing and 200 yards passing - 115 of them coming on Gardner's touchdown and a 71-yarder to Jeremy Gallon that set up Michigan's first score.
"I made a lot of mistakes tonight, and I'm going to have to watch the film and find out what I did wrong," Robinson said. "We all need to do that -- we need to learn from tonight and move forward to the next game."
On top of the loss, Michigan will have some significant injuries to worry about heading into Saturday's game against Air Force. Cornerback Blake Countess and tight end Brandon Moore left the game early with knee injuries, and left tackle Taylor Lewan sustained a leg injury in the fourth quarter.
Hoke said after the game that he did not have updates on the injured players. He also did not give a reason why junior Josh Furman, listed on the depth chart as the starting kickoff returner, did not make the trip to Dallas. Freshman Dennis Norfleet filled in, showing some spark on eight kickoff returns.
