A year after playing in CFP semifinal, No. 11 Alabama and Michigan meet again in ReliaQuest Bowl

TAMPA, Fla.

(AP) The stakes arent as high as they were when No.

11 Alabama and Michigan last met in the postseason, however the Crimson Tide and Wolverines say theyre excited about their New Years Eve matchup in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

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And while some of the big names have changed, highlighted by the departures of Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh, theres still plenty of star power on the marquee.

Former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, who lost to Michigan in last seasons 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 NFLs 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.

Its going to be a great challenge with a great team, great opponent, Moore said Monday.

Ready to kick this thing off.

Its 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 say its good to be in warm weather Florida with an opportunity to finish a year filled with challenges.

You want to win them all, right? Thats 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.

Its been a whirlwind of 11 months, the Alabama coach added.

But I like where were at with the mindset, like where were 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.

Its also Michigans 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 will be the third time Alabama has played in the game.

Jalen Milroe will start 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 cant achieve all or most of our goals now, Booker added.

But one of the goals we can still achieve is reaching 10 wins.

And thats at the forefront of our minds.

Alabama must replace second-team All-America safety Malachi Moore , who had surgery for an unspecified injury.

The Tide were already missing injured safety Keon Sabb.

Candidates to fill the role could include King Mack, Kameron Howard and freshman Zavier Mincey.

Injuries and transfers have 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.

By FRED GOODALL, Associated Press.

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