Michigan fights off Alabama to win 19-13 in ReliaQuest Bowl
The Michigan Wolverines held on strong on New Year's Eve to secure a 19-13 win against Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Although the stakes weren't as high as they were when the two teams last met in the postseason, the Crimson Tide and Wolverines said they were excited about their Dec. 31 matchup.
Tuesday's game at Raymond James Stadium was a rematch of last year's College Football Playoff semifinal won by eventual national champion Michigan at the Rose Bowl.
And while some of the big names changed, highlighted by the departures of Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh, there's still plenty of star power on the marquee.
Former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, who lost to Michigan in last season's CFP final, moved to Alabama after Saban retired and is completing his first season with the Crimson Tide.
Sherrone Moore, meanwhile, replaced Harbaugh when the former Wolverines coach left Michigan for the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers and has experienced some ups and downs in 2024, too.
Despite losing three times and failing to get to the Southeastern Conference championship game, Alabama (9-3) was disappointed to be left out of the expanded 12-team CFP field.
Michigan (7-5) finished seventh in the Big Ten but enters the ReliaQuest Bowl on a high note after defeating archrival and CFP participant Ohio State.
"Our players are excited. It's going to be a great challenge with a great team, great opponent," Moore said Monday. "Ready to kick this thing off."
It's not an easy task to follow Saban or Harbaugh, and the ReliaQuest Bowl is not where the Crimson Tide and Wolverines hoped to wind up when the season began.
Still, DeBoer and Moore said it's good to be in warm weather Florida and to have an opportunity to finish a year filled with challenges.
"You want to win them all, right? That's a given. But I think just finishing this year off with a positive would be big for just the direction, for this team to kind of put an end to it, but also to help us just moving forward and the trajectory," DeBoer said.
"It's been a whirlwind of 11 months," the Alabama coach added. "But I like where we're at with the mindset, like where we're at with how things are coming together, and looking forward to taking those next steps."
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between the tradition-rich programs. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines have each won three.
It was also Michigan's seventh appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl, which was called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to 2022.
This was the third time Alabama played in the game.
Jalen Milroe started at quarterback for Alabama as the Crimson Tide try to get their 10th victory and extend an impressive streak of 16 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins.
"It means a lot," offensive lineman Tyler Booker, a second-team AP All-American, said.
"We had a lot of goals set out before this year took place, and obviously we can't achieve all or most of our goals now," Booker added. "But one of the goals we can still achieve is reaching 10 wins. And that's at the forefront of our minds."
Alabama had to replace second-team All-America safety Malachi Moore, who had surgery for an unspecified injury. The Tide were already missing injured safety Keon Sabb.
Injuries and transfers left Alabama with just four healthy scholarship wide receivers. Two are established starters, Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard. Redshirt freshman Jaren Hamilton has no catches in his first two seasons and freshman Rico Scott has four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.
