The Alabama Crimson Tide won’t be spending December where they had hoped to in the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Kalen DeBoer’s team will instead be in Tampa, Fla., for this year’s ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly the Outback Bowl) at Raymond James Stadium. Alabama will face the Michigan Wolverines on Dec. 31 at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN.
On Thursday, we gained some clarity on whether Alabama’s best players (those with future NFL careers) would suit up against the Wolverines. Quarterback Jalen Milroe, for one, confirmed that he would play in the Crimson Tide’s bowl game.
“The mission right now is to complete the season,” Milroe told reporters. “We have one more mission ahead, which is attacking Michigan. And that’s the whole thought process right now, being our absolute best so we can take care of our business when it goes to playing in Tampa.
“It’s all about going 1-0… and that’s where my focus is at. Winning this game, preparing the right way, and take care of my body so we can be at our best us,” Milroe added.
Stud linebacker Jihaad Campbell was a bit more direct when asked if he would also play in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
“Hell yeah I’m playing,” Campbell told AL.com’s Nick Kelly. “I didn’t even think about that. I wanted to play with my brothers. It’s another opportunity to showcase my talents and for everybody else to showcase their talents and all the hard work they put in.”
Two years ago, Alabama’s two best players were quarterback Bryce Young and linebacker Will Anderson. Both were taken in the top five of the 2023 draft. Young was the No. 1 overall pick by the Carolina Panthers; Anderson the No. 3 pick by the Houston Texans.
Milroe was asked about his thought process and what led to him deciding to play against the Wolverines.
“One of our core values is finish,” Milroe said. “Despite anything, we entered into the season together and we’ll finish the season together, my teammates, my brothers. It’s all about unfinished business. We have one more game on our schedule. I think it was ultimately just (about) doing what was best for our team.”
The matchup between Alabama and Michigan will mark the seventh all-time meeting between the two blue blood programs. The Wolverines defeated the Crimson Tide, 27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in what would turn out to be Nick Saban’s final game as Alabama’s coach.
The Tide and Wolverines also met in the 2019 Citrus Bowl, the 1999 Orange Bowl, and twice before in what’s now known as the ReliaQuest Bowl (after the 1996 and 1987 seasons).
The all-time head to head series is split 3-3.
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