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The skies dumped on Raymond James Stadium in the first quarter of Tuesday’s ReliaQuest Bowl between Alabama and Michigan. In the rain and the slop, Alabama looked like a team that didn’t belong.
When blowouts tarnished the first round of the College Football Playoff, all anyone wanted to talk about was what Alabama would have done to this team or that team had it been selected to the 12-team field. The Crimson Tide had a chance to go out against a one-dimensional Michigan team missing its best defensive playmakers and make a statement. Instead, it validated its own exclusion from the field.
Alabama turned it over 3 times in the first quarter, spotted the Wolverines a 16-0 lead, and never recovered. Michigan went on to win 19-13, handing the Crimson Tide their fourth loss of the year and officially snapping a streak of 16 consecutive seasons with double-digit wins.
Here are 3 takeaways from the game.
Horrific start puts a white-hot spotlight on Milroe
With 12:38 to play in the fourth quarter, Alabama faced a fourth-and-7 from the Michigan 34. Down 6, coach Kalen DeBoer left his offense on the field and asked Jalen Milroe to make a play.
Milroe looked left the whole way and tried to drive a pass from the right hash to the opposite sideline. The throw took forever to get to its target and led Jaylen Mbakwe, a converted defensive back, out of bounds. Maybe a more seasoned pass-catcher keeps his feet inside the white lines and tries to make an acrobatic play. Maybe. Milroe’s throw left plenty to be desired.
And that felt like an illustrative moment. “Left plenty to be desired” is the story of the season for Milroe. Alabama’s first 10 plays featured 3 turnovers — all from Milroe — and spotted Michigan 16 first-quarter points. The Crimson Tide were never able to crawl out of that hole.
Milroe finished the game 16-for-32 for 192 yards through the air. He ran 16 times and finished with 7 yards. He threw a touchdown, but also threw an interception, fumbled a snap, and was stripped on a sack. In the first quarter, Alabama ran 13 plays and lost 2 yards.
On the final offensive play of the game, Milroe threw off his back foot. His pass hit the dirt 5 yards short of an open receiver in the endzone. Alabama was trailing by 6, facing a fourth-and-10 from the 15 with 56 seconds left. Michigan took over with 49 seconds remaining and kneeled out the remainder of the clock.
For better or worse, Milroe was Alabama’s offense. That was true during the regular season and it was true once again in the postseason. He didn’t have much help on Tuesday — the line was bad, the ground game outside of him was nonexistent — but he didn’t really elevate above. The Crimson Tide found themselves trapped inside the Milroe Experience, which was euphoric at times (Georgia still has nightmares of No. 4 running) and maddening at others. Milroe’s warts were on display in the bowl game — struggling to make quick decisions, missing reads, missing throws. He’s an athlete with a ton of tools, but he’s a quarterback with a number of flaws.
This performance feels like a natural pivot point for both parties. When Milroe was torching Georgia, it looked likely that he’d enter the NFL Draft after the season and hear his name called at some point. But he doesn’t look ready for the NFL in any way. And Alabama should be ready to move on.
The forced marriage between quarterback and coach always seemed precarious, but, to their credit, both sides gave it a shot this year and tried to make it work. It is clear now that DeBoer’s offense isn’t a fit. Milroe has another year of college ball, and it would probably benefit him to take that year and spend it elsewhere. He can be a productive player. He can absolutely be a winning player. But something is off here. It was off all year. It was off on Tuesday. And we shouldn’t really need to see any more.
Defense does its job
Michigan’s first 4 possessions all began on Alabama’s side of the 50. Its second, third, and fourth drives all started inside the red zone. The Wolverines kicked field goals on 3 of the 4 drives, including a possession that began at the 6 and ended with a field goal kick from the 3.
The Wolverines won despite gaining just 190 yards. They averaged 2.9 yards per play and won. They were outgained in the game, they were outgained on a per-play basis, they had fewer first downs, they were awful on third down, and they lost their starting quarterback in the second half.
After being spotted 16 early points, Alabama’s defense stonewalled the Michigan offense. The Wolverines had 6 possessions in the second and third quarters. Those drives ended with 5 punts and an interception. They crossed midfield once.
Jihaad Campbell had 10 tackles to lead all defenders. Tim Smith and James Smith each had a pair of tackles for loss. Zabien Brown got an interception off Alex Orji in the third quarter. And the defense got a stop in the final 5 minutes to give Alabama’s offense 1 final chance to win the football game.
The defense did its job. It was let down.
DeBoer’s task ahead
With 4:30 to play, Alabama stopped Michigan on a first-and-10 play for just 2 yards. But Justin Jefferson was flagged for a personal foul after appearing to swipe at a Michigan player’s helmet and the Wolverines picked up 15 free yards and a first down. On the previous drive, Alabama showed almost no sense of urgency, down 9, and took 2:43 off the clock to kick a field goal. There was a sideline interference penalty that turned what would have been a fourth-and-22 play into a Michigan first down earlier in the game. There was a procedural penalty on the first play of the second quarter. What was an undisciplined team during the season was once again an undisciplined team on Tuesday.
That falls back on Kalen DeBoer. It has all year. It has to get buttoned up.
It’s not DeBoer’s fault that he’s the guy after The Guy. It’s not his fault that Nick Saban was the greatest coach in Alabama history (and in college football history, to be fair). But this is the job he signed up for. DeBoer is the guy after The Guy. And, as such, his program is constantly going to be compared to Saban’s. In certain areas, he doesn’t have to live up. But Saban’s program didn’t beat itself. So often in DeBoer’s first year, it felt like Alabama just constantly shot its toes off and made things harder than they should have been.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
