Alabama football is preparing for its final game of the 2024 season as they face off with Michigan in Tampa for the ReliaQuest Bowl.
It’s not the College Football Playoff, but it gives the group playing their final game in crimson and white an opportunity to exorcize the demon of last season’s Rose Bowl against the team that ended its hopes of winning a national championship.
While there’s not nearly as much on the line in Tampa as there was in Pasadena, Alabama’s double-digit win total streak would be a nice thing to continue. Alabama has won 10+ games in a row for 16 consecutive seasons and will be looking to make that 17 on Tuesday.
Michigan will be missing some key pieces and its 7-5 record doesn’t look too intimidating, but the Crimson Tide will have to play well to leave Tampa with the victory. The Wolverines are talented and capable of beating the best of the best – just ask Ohio State.
3 keys to victory for Alabama against Michigan
3. Stop the Michigan rushing attack
Michigan’s offense by nature is one-dimensional, which is usually good news for a defense. But Alabama is going to want to flip that and force the Wolverines into doing something they aren’t comfortable with: the forward pass.
Even with Donovan Edwards opting out, Michigan has plenty of talented backs led by Kalel Mullings and others who they will force-feed. Backup QB Alex Orji will provide a change-of-pace and run the football a lot, too. With Alabama’s struggles to stop running quarterbacks on occasions this season, I would expect Orji to be a big part of the game plan.
The Wolverines are going to want to run the football and control the clock to shorten the game. If Alabama can force Michigan into third-and-longs, Davis Warren will have to make plays with his arm to keep drives alive.
He has some ability, but he hasn’t proven capable enough of doing that this year.
2. Establish an effective non-Jalen Milroe ground game on offense
You can bet a big part of Michigan’s defensive game plan is going to be to stop the legs of Jalen Milroe. He’s going to be the focal point of the Wolverines’ plan defensively.
To avoid the same kind of issues that caused the inept offensive performance against Oklahoma in Norman in November, Alabama has to come up with an effective counter and run the football with the backs.
With Justice Haynes switching sidelines, Alabama will be without one of its most productive backs. But they’ll still have leading rusher Jam Miller and redshirt freshman Richard Young figures to get a big opportunity as the No. 2 back with Haynes gone.
Running the ball against Michigan won’t be easy, even against a front missing star DT Mason Graham. But Alabama needs to find some success on the ground with the backs in order to maintain balance and not put too much on Milroe’s arm or legs.
1. Avoid negative plays and turnovers
Alabama lost to both Vanderbilt and Oklahoma because those teams were able to effectively shorten the game by controlling the ball. Add in losing the turnover battle, and the Crimson Tide had no chance.
Michigan will employ a similar game plan to the ‘Dores and Sooners and look to hit some QB runs and win the game three or four yards at a time. That makes it imperative that Alabama doesn’t give up possessions by turning the ball over or by starting behind the eight-ball with negative plays that set up second and third and longs.
Staying on schedule on offense will be important. The most important will be to avoid turnovers. Alabama can’t afford to be negative in the turnover margin in Tampa. If they are, this game will be a lot closer than the spread indicates, and the Tide could find themselves on the losing end of it in a disappointing finish to the 2024 season.
About The Author
