Neither the Alabama Crimson Tide or the Michigan Wolverines had the types of seasons they wanted in 2024.
Alabama (9-3 overall) lost three games, which was one too many to keep them out of the 12-team College Football Playoff. Michigan (7-5) won the national championship a year ago while going 15-0 but was never in contention to repeat as champions this season.
This year’s ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly the Outback Bowl) matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Wolverines won’t have near the amount of stakes as last season’s Rose Bowl, a playoff semifinal game that Michigan won 27-20 in overtime.
But it’s still Alabama vs. Michigan, and college football blue bloods like the Tide and Wolverines carry a lot of weight. That’s particularly true for bowl games that aren’t normally accustomed to having two historical powerhouses play in lower-tier postseason events.
USA TODAY Sports recently ranked all 35 non-playoff bowl games for the 2024 season from best to worst. Alabama-Michigan ranked in the top 10 at No. 7, one spot behind the Music City Bowl matchup between the Missouri Tigers and Iowa Hawkeyes.
Eddie Timanus of USA TODAY Sports explained his ranking for Alabama vs. Michigan this way:
“One might expect a rematch of a playoff game from a year ago to be higher on the list, though clearly a lot has changed at both programs since. The Wolverines’ decline was more precipitous than the Crimson Tide’s ebb, but both teams own victories against playoff teams, so clearly there is still enough roster talent to give us a quality contest.”
On that note, Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe and linebacker Jihaad Campbell announced last Thursday that they intended to play in the ReliaQeust Bowl. Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer had said earlier in the week that he didn’t expect many Alabama players to opt out for the game.
“I feel like right now we’re at a place where most of those guys are planning on playing,” DeBoer had told reporters.
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Alabama and Michigan are scheduled to kick off at 11 a.m. CT on Dec. 31 from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Crimson Tide are ranked No. 11 in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25. Michigan is unranked.
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