Five reasons to care about Michigan vs. Alabama in ReliaQuest Bowl
Finally, the Michigan football season is over and the coaches and staff can focus on the offseason.
They can use all their time on transfer portal targets and the high school recruiting classes, continue to work with collectives to boost Name, Image and Likeness deals to entice players to come to one of the most prestigious programs in the country and try and repeat the journey to the top of the mountain.
Oh, wait, what's that? The 2024 season isn't over yet? Yup, the Wolverines (7-5) still have a matchup against No. 11 Alabama (9-3) — the first team out of the College Football Playoff — in the ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly the Outback Bowl) in Tampa, Florida, with a national audience on New Year's Eve.
Despite the game being a rematch of last year's Rose Bowl, the buzz nationally is that this game doesn't matter. However, there's still plenty for this group to gain out of the rest of the season.
Even though U-M isn't playing in the CFP — and a number of its stars, such as Mason Graham, Will Johnson, Myles Hinton and Donovan Edwards, have all opted out — here are five reasons the final game of the season still matters.
First look at Bryce Underwood, early enrollees
Much like last year when eight early enrollees suited up for U-M practices ahead of the Rose Bowl, a number of athletes are lined up to go down to Florida for bowl prep with the team. While it's not official, the wide-held expectation is the nation's No. 1 incoming recruit, quarterback Bryce Underwood, will be among those in attendance.
"Something we are in the midst of working on," program spokesman David Ablauf told the Free Press. "Travel plans for all of our players. We can probably better answer that question at the end of the week."
U-M is scheduled to fly down to Tampa on Dec. 26 and practice that day. Assuming Underwood makes the trip, it would mark the first time he would participate in a Wolverines-sanctioned practice or event.
It's hard to overstate the importance of enrolling early for freshmen, especially if they want to crack the playing rotation in Year 1 (much less be the face of the team).
It's good for Underwood to start learning the playbook (although interim offensive coordinator Steve Casula calling plays means it won't resemble what it will look like in the fall with incoming OC Chip Lindsey).
Extra reps for players who stay
Though U-M ended the season with a high note of consecutive wins, the 2024 season was seen as a disaster by many until a historic 13-10 upset of No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus flipped the vibes of the year as a whole.
Those being honest with themselves, though, remember the glaring weaknesses. On offense, it was the lack of a passing game and an inconsistent running game. On defense, the pass unit gave up more big plays this season than the past two combined.
The task gets no easier playing without a host of the team's best players in Graham, Loveland, Johnson, Hinton, Edwards and possibly others (it seems edge Josaiah Stewart and running back Kalel Mullings are both on the fence). But having December for second- and third-stringers to get more individualized attention and reps often pays dividends down the line. Plus — it's a good opportunity for Michigan fans to get to know their up-and-coming-faces.
No. 3: Seeing young running backs
If Mullings and Edwards are both out, that will give us the first chance to take a look at the future of the three-headed backfield: Benjamin Hall, Jordan Marshall and Micah Ka'apana.
Hall, a 5-foot-11, 235-pound sophomore from Georgia who has legs like tree trunks, ran 13 times this year for 44 yards and caught three passes for 12 yards. While the numbers are underwhelming, in his true-freshman spring game, he ran for more than 55 yards against an eventual national-champion defense.
Next, there's Marshall, a dynamic athlete who nearly took back a couple of kickoff returns for touchdowns (with nine returns for 225 total yards). On offense, he had eight touches for 20 yards this year, all of which came in the final two games. He came to Ann Arbor highly regarded — the No. 4 running back and No. 78 overall player in the nation in the class of 2024, per 247 Sports' composite rankings.
Finally, there's Ka'apana, a Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) alumnus who was so impressive in practice as a true freshman that U-M traveled with seven RBs to its final two away games. Ka'apana caught one pass for 4 yards in Michigan's penultimate game, a 50-6 win over Northwestern. While there might not be a ton of room to work running behind a line that will be down multiple starters, it will be worthwhile to see their rushing style and who, if any, has the most juice at this stage.
No. 4: Finding the leaders
Though we weren't inside the locker room walls, it seemed this year's team missed elite leadership.
Michigan's captains to begin this year consisted of Edwards (vocal, but lost his starting job and has had off-field issues), Max Bredeson (former walk-on), Rod Moore (injured) and Makari Paige (solid, yet understated).
It was a far cry from the 2023 group, which had J.J. McCarthy, Mike Sainristil, Michael Barrett, Blake Corum, Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter — each of whom was drafted by the NFL (two in the top-60 picks) and named to an All-Big Ten team.
In 2024, as the Wolverines suffered through a 1-4 slog in the middle of the season, head coach Sherrone Moore took it upon himself to elevate Stewart from alternate captain to try and create a spark. Though it's early, with the old leaders on the way out, this is when the next group of guys steps up.
Hall has already said he wants to be one of those guys.
No. 5: Nothing to lose
Unlike the past three postseasons, when the weight of the season seemingly hinged on every snap, there's really no downside in this game (you know, unless U-M gets its doors blown off).
Lose a close game to Alabama? OK. The Tide were inches away from getting into the College Football Playoff and have a Heisman Trophy frontrunner for next season in QB Jalen Milroe (if he doesn't enter the draft), so it's not a bad loss.
But win? End the season with three consecutive victories, quite possibly earn a ranking and go into the offseason with the momentum of back-to-back wins over Ohio State and Alabama during the "down" year?
Look out next season, if that's what happens.
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