TAMPA, Fla. — Michigan beat Alabama on the first day of 2024 in the Rose Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff.
On the last day of 2024, Michigan closes out the year with another win over the Crimson Tide, this time in a physical ReliaQuest Bowl.
“There was hard hitting going on on both sides,” Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore said. “You can hear the pads popping. Our guys delivering hits, they’re delivering hits.”
Michigan won the game 19-13. The biggest hits came from the Wolverines defense — sacking Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe five times and forcing three turnovers.
“It was outstanding. You’re talking about one of the most explosive people in college football in Jalen Milroe,” Moore said. “He can hurt you with his legs, he can hurt you with his arms. I thought they did a good job of funneling him in the pocket and making it uncomfortable for him.”
“We dug ourselves in a hole in the first quarter,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer added. “The turnovers gave them great field position. Our defense did a good job on most of those drives, holding them to field goals. Gave us a chance. Loved the fight in our team.”
Alabama, a team that narrowly missed the College Football Playoff, finishes the season 9-4, while Michigan ends the season on a three-game winning streak with an 8-5 record.
“We talked about not losses, lessons. We had a lot of lessons throughout the year,” Moore said. “Just learning from them. We learned the things we needed to learn to ultimately end up on the plus side. We did that in these last three games.”
This was the third time Alabama and Michigan met in a bowl game in Tampa. The Wolverines beat Bama in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl, then Alabama returned the favor in the 1997 Outback Bowl.
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