Alabama football faces a familiar opponent on December 31st when it travels to Tampa to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The Crimson Tide will play Michigan in a rematch of last year’s Rose Bowl semifinal of the College Football Playoff.

Both teams face a long break before traveling to Tampa. As the Tide and Wolverines begin preparations and figure out what portion of their regular rosters will be available for the game, here’s what you should know about UM.

The coach

It will be a new face for Michigan since the Wolverines last played Alabama. Jim Harbaugh was in charge last season before jumping ship in the offseason to take over the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers.

Sherrone Moore was the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator last season. He took over head coaching duties for two games last year while Harbaugh was suspended for recruiting violations and a sign-stealing scandal.

Moore has been at Michigan since the 2018 season. He started as tight ends coach in 2018 before assuming the duties of co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in 2021.

Before coming to Michigan, he coached at Central Michigan and Louisville, among others. He played his own college football as an offensive guard at Oklahoma.

The Wolverines won both games Moore coached last season. After Harbaugh’s departure, he was promoted to full-time in January.

The season

The 2024 season was something of a national championship hangover for the Wolverines. The title roster was decimated by the NFL Draft and UM finished the regular season 7-5, 5-4 in Big Ten play.

The year began with a win over Fresno State before Texas traveled to Ann Arbor and defeated Michigan 31-12 in Week 2. The Wolverines rebounded to score wins over Arkansas State, Southern Cal and Minnesota.

Michigan lost road games at Washington and Illinois before beating Michigan State, then fell to No. 1 Oregon in Ann Arbor and Indiana on the road. Those would be Michigan’s last two losses.

The Wolverines defeated Northwestern and then traveled to Ohio State, where they upset the Buckeyes ahead of the postseason.

Michigan ranked 14th in the Big Ten in points per game with a season average of 22.2. The Wolverines allowed 20.5 opponent points per game, which is the eighth best in the league.

The game

It would have been a disappointing year for Michigan if not for one crucial point. The Wolverines beat Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were heavily favored and entered the CFP rankings as the No. 2 team. The game was also in Columbus, so OSU fans were excited about the chance to break a three-year winning streak at Michigan.

Unrelated to. The Wolverines and Ohio State were tied late in the fourth quarter when Kalel Mullings broke free and made a 27-yard run into UM scoring range.

Dominic Zvada made a 21-yarder with 45 seconds left. The Buckeyes couldn’t respond on offense and the streak lasted four years.

The Michigan defense played a big role in the game, holding OSU to 77 rushing yards while Buckeye quarterback Will Howard threw two interceptions. Ohio State also missed two field goals.

The Wolverine win kept Ohio State out of the Big Ten championship and put UM into a bowl game with plenty of momentum.