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The New Year's Eve thrilling ReliaQuest Bowl saw the Alabama Crimson Tide battle against the Michigan Wolverines at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

The Wolverines began the game strong, scoring first with a series of consecutive field goals. Quarterback Davis Warren then connected with Fredrick Moore for a touchdown, extending their lead to double digits over the Crimson Tide. Although Alabama's quarterback, Jalen Milroe, had a slow start that included three turnovers in the first half, the Crimson Tide managed to narrow the score as they headed into halftime.

Michigan had to continue without starting quarterback Warren in the second half due to an injury that kept him sidelined for the rest of the game. Backup Alex Orji stepped in to lead the offense. Both teams struggled to generate offensive momentum during the second half, leading to a contest dominated by field goals as the kickers contributed significantly to the score. In the final minutes of the bowl game, it seemed that Milroe might secure a win for the Crimson Tide, but the Michigan defense refused to let that happen.

In a game that came down to the wire, here are the highlights from the ReliaQuest Bowl.

ReliaQuest Bowl highlights

Michigan defense continues to dominate

Alabama finds the end zone

Nicholson nails a 51-yard field goal

Alabama's quarterback, Jalen Milroe, finally seems to find his rhythm and gets the offense into scoring territory in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Milroe then throws a pass to Jam Miller, who makes a 25-yard run to Michigan's 15-yard line. After facing a tough Michigan defense, Milroe throws the ball away on fourth down. Michigan defeats Alabama 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

After a Roughing the Passer penalty on Michigan's Amorion Walker, Alabama advanced to the Michigan 33-yard line. However, they struggled to generate offense and had to settle for a field goal. Kicker Graham Nicholson successfully made a 51-yard field goal, marking his longest of the year. With 4:38 left in the fourth quarter, Michigan leads Alabama 19-13.

Michigan kicker Dominic Zvada successfully made a 37-yard field goal, extending the Wolverines' lead to 19-10 against Alabama with 7:21 left in the fourth quarter.

Michigan's quarterback, Alex Orji, has his pass intercepted by Alabama's Zabien Brown, giving the Crimson Tide a favorable position on the Wolverines' 50-yard line. Michigan leads 16-10 against Alabama as they head into the fourth quarter.

Alabama's quarterback, Jalen Milroe, made an impressive 41-yard run to bring the Crimson Tide into Michigan territory. Milroe followed up with a 40-yard pass to Germie Bernard, advancing to the Michigan 6-yard line. However, Alabama was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and had to settle for a field goal, narrowing the score. As a result, Michigan leads Alabama 16-10 as they head into halftime.

Alabama's quarterback, Jalen Milroe, connects with Robbie Ouzts for a 25-yard touchdown, putting the Crimson Tide on the board for the first time in this game. Michigan leads Alabama 16-7 with 4:01 remaining in the second quarter.

Alabama's quarterback, Jalen Milroe, continues to struggle and is sacked for a loss of 14 yards, resulting in a fumble. Michigan recovers the ball at the Crimson Tide's 25-yard line. Michigan settles for another field goal and now lead Alabama 16-0 with 2:04 left in first quarter.

Alabama's quarterback, Jalen Milroe, threw a costly interception that was caught by Michigan's Jordan Marshall, putting the Wolverines in a strong position. Michigan's quarterback, Davis Warren, then connected with Fredrick Moore for a 13-yard touchdown, extending the Wolverines' lead. With 4:15 left in the first quarter, Michigan now leads Alabama 13-0.

Following a costly fumble by Alabama, which gave Michigan possession at the Crimson Tide's 18-yard line, the Wolverines were unable to reach the end zone and had to settle for a 30-yard field goal. With 5:52 remaining in the first quarter, Michigan leads Alabama 6-0.

The Michigan Wolverines score a 45-yard field goal for the first points on the board. Michigan leads 3-0 against Alabama with 8:15 remaining in the first quarter.

When is the ReliaQuest Bowl between Alabama and Michigan?

The ReliaQuest Bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan Wolverines kicks off at noon at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

How to watch Alabama and Michigan in ReliaQuest Bowl

The ReliaQuest Bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan Wolverines will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Live streaming is available on Fubo, which has a free trial.

Watch Alabama take on Michigan with a Fubo subscription

The Alabama Crimson Tide are favorites to defeat the Michigan Wolverines, according to BetMGM.

Odds as of Monday, Dec. 31

• Spread: Alabama (-14.5)
• Moneyline: Alabama (-650); Michigan (+450)
• Over/under: 43.5

USA TODAY: Alabama is unanimous pick

• Scooby Axson: Alabama
• Jordan Mendoza: Alabama
• Paul Myerberg: Alabama
• Erick Smith: Alabama
• Eddie Timanus: Alabama
• Dan Wolken: Alabama

ESPN: Alabama 30, Michigan 17

Staff writes: "Coach Kalen DeBoer's first season at Alabama won't end in the CFP. How many of the Crimson Tide's top players will join him in Tampa? Alabama's opt-outs and portal entries will be a storyline through December, and Michigan also could have some, as the Wolverines have more high-level NFL draft prospects on this year's team than last year's national championship squad. The Tide still will have a significant edge on offense in the matchup, and Michigan might need an Ohio State-like performance to keep pace. Michigan's run game keeps things close for a half, but Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard eventually get loose as Alabama pulls away."

Sports Illustrated: Alabama

James Park writes: "Alabama -11.5 ... Michigan has some bodies up front defensively who can contest the Tide’s blockers on the line, but Alabama has too many skill threats who can get behind the Wolverines’ secondary."

BetMGM: Alabama

Staff writes: "The winning team model predicts Alabama will win this game with 79.4% confidence, based on game simulations, offensive & defensive matchups and recent game results. This winning team prediction factors in up-to-date player injuries for both Alabama and Michigan, key player performances this season and recent team trends."

Here are USA TODAY Sports’ expert picks for all of the college football bowl games. 

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan Wolverines have faced off six times in their history. The Crimson Tide and Wolverines share a 3-3 record in the series.

Michigan beat Alabama 27-20 in their last matchup on Jan. 1, 2024.

College football bowl season began Dec. 14 and will run through Jan. 20 with the College Football Playoff championship game in Atlanta. Click here for the schedule of all upcoming bowls, including the College Football Playoff, and the results of already completed games.

We’ll begin with a couple of stipulations. First, we’ll operate under the assumption that all the first-round playoff games, as well as the quarterfinal and semifinal bowl contests, will be appointment viewing anyway, so they won’t be included in this exercise. We’ll also add that while some matchups look attractive in terms of records and rankings, whether the games will turn out to be good hinges upon which key players actually show up. We also recognize that your interest in a particular game might differ based upon your rooting interest.

We try to put these in order of what we think will have the highest entertainment value, but circumstances can change before the games kick off. Click here for our watchability rankings for all 35 non-playoff bowls. — Eddie Timanus

For an industry that has gone out of its way over many decades to accommodate the bowl industry, even cutting them in on the spoils of the College Football Playoff, there’s been a disturbance in the force.  

Though everyone knew a decade ago that creating the CFP would change the nature of and interest in college football’s larger postseason, the bowls were still considered untouchable. Despite a financial model that ensured most schools lost money on bowls, schools and conferences dutifully participated in them, believing in their necessity as a reward for players, a vehicle for coaches to squeeze in extra practices and a marketing tool for the university. — Dan Wolken

Future of college football bowl system? It's complicated and uncertain.

If players are employees, then they’ll negotiate College Football Playoff bonuses for each round completed. Not unlike the NFL and its playoff bonus structure. 

You can’t ask players to play more games (to increase your bottom dollar with booming media rights deals), and not give them a bonus structure for those extra games. I’ll say this again because it’s getting lost in the greedy players narrative: Penn State and Texas could play 17 games this season. 

That, everyone, is insanity for two rosters that aren’t yet paid directly to play. A majority of the players on those rosters make little to nothing in NIL deals. — Matt Hayes

College football players drivven by money bother you? Get over it

The first round of the College Football Playoff concluded with all four home teams winning.

FRIDAY, DEC. 20

SATURDAY, DEC. 21

CFP quarterfinals schedule

The four quarterfinal games will be played on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with one game on Dec. 31 and three on Jan. 1. All games will be televised by ESPN.

All times Eastern

TUESDAY, DEC. 31

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 1

CFP semifinals schedule

The semifinal games will be played on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. Both games will be televised by ESPN.

All times Eastern

THURSDAY, JAN. 9

• Orange Bowl: Fiesta Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

FRIDAY, JAN. 10

• Cotton Bowl: Peach Bowl winner vs. Rose Bowl winner, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

CFP national championship game schedule

MONDAY, JAN. 20

• Game: Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner
• Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN

1. Oregon (Big Ten champion, No. 1 seed)*
2. Georgia (SEC champion, No. 2 seed)*
3. Texas (No. 5 seed)
4. Penn State (No. 6 seed)
5. Notre Dame (No. 7 seed)
6. Ohio State (No. 8 seed)
7. Tennessee (No. 9 seed)
8. Indiana (No. 10 seed)
9. Boise State (MWC champion, No. 3 seed)*
10. SMU (No. 11 seed)
11. Alabama
12. Arizona State (Big 12 champion, No. 4 seed)*
13. Miami
14. Mississippi
15. South Carolina
16. Clemson (ACC champion, No. 12 seed)**

*first-round bye; **automatic bid

The 12 participating teams in the College Football Playoff bracket are the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

The four highest-ranked conference champions are seeded one through four and received a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion is seeded where it was ranked among the top 12 teams, or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 in the CFP rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5.

"Because of this," the CFP warns on its website, "the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings."

For the first round, the higher-ranked team in each pairing (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9) will serve as host on campus. The winners advance to the quarterfinals and match up with the corresponding top-four conference champion based on seeding. Quarterfinal games will played at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The semifinals – played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic – will take place Jan. 9-10.

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