Michigan Holds On To Beat Alabama In The 2025 Reliaquest Bowl

The Michigan Wolverines got off to a quick start and lead against the Alabama Crimson Tide by going up 16-0 in the first quarter and held on to win 19-16 at Raymond James Stadium on New Year’s Eve.

The stadium was packed with fans from both sides and they stayed throughout a deluge of rain in the first quarter and were then treated to a beautiful Florida afternoon once the rain subsided.

The Wolverine’s defense was stout all day holding the Crimson Tide and their quarterback Jalen Milroe who opted to throw his hat into the upcoming NFL Draft ring, to 260 total yards and 21:48 in time of possession.

Edge Derrick Moore was a beast all day for the Wolverines defense with 4 solo tackles and 2 sacks and a fumble recovery and kicker Dominic Zvada could have been the MVP with 4 field goals but RB Jordan Marshall took home the trophy.

Michigan also forced a season-high three turnovers in the first quarter and held Bama to -2 yards. Offensively, Michigan was led by the aforementioned Jordan Marshall with a career-high 100 yards on 23 carries and Frederick Moore with 3 catches for 37 yards. Quarterback Warren Davis went 9-12 for 73 yards and was injured in the third quarter and was replaced by Alex Orji.

Warren told fans that he looked forward to being back on the practice field with his teammates, while revealing the devastating injury he suffered in the bowl game. “Celebrating a win and so proud of the way the boys finished the season!”

Warren wrote. “I unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in the bowl game. Thanks to the Michigan faithful for all the support this season. “Can’t wait to battle to be back on the field with my guys in AA and go blue!” 

The second quarter was much better for the Crimson Tide as they were able to get 10 points on the board and get it to a six-point game going into halftime.

TE Robbie Ouzts caught a 25 yard TD pass from Milroe to cut the score to 16-7 late in the second quarter and kicker Graham Nicholson hit a 24 yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the half to tighten the score at 16-10.

That felt like a major win after the way the first quarter went, but the Michigan defense was absolutely smothering in the second half.

Alabama did a good of keeping Michigan from scoring, but they weren’t able to get anything going offensively in the second half. Neither team scored in the third quarter, and then the Wolverines kicked a huge field goal to make it a two-score game with a little over seven minutes remaining in the contest.

Milroe had a chance to lead the Crimson Tide to victory with a last-second drive but couldn’t punch it in as the Wolverines stopped them on 4th down with 56 second to go to hoist the Reliaquest Bowl trophy.

The Crimson Tide (9-4) finish the 2024 season with four losses, the first time it reached that total since 2007, when it lost six games in Nick Saban’s first season. It’s a tough loss for Alabama, as Michigan was playing without most of its top players, who opted out to prepare for the 2025 NFL draft.

For Michigan, it was a positive ending to a tough season but one the players could hang their hat on as the youngsters who played in this game will only get better in the future and will compete next year to get back into college football’s playoff system.