TAMPA, Fla. – Alabama ended 2024 the same way it started: a crushing loss to Michigan.
Thanks in large part to a disastrous first quarter, the Crimson Tide couldn’t complete a fourth quarter comeback and lost their fourth game of the season 19-13. The loss marks the first time in 15 years that Alabama failed to have a 10-win or better season and the team’s second loss in the final three games.
In an ending eerily similar to the Rose Bowl loss from last season, Jalen Milroe’s fourth down pass in the redzone fell well out of reach of Rico Scott, allowing Michigan to kneel out the game. Alabama’s season-long starter struggled in the loss, completing just 16 of his 32 passes for 192 yards and a single touchdown.
It looked as if the Crimson Tide were going to mount a comeback – especially after Michigan starting quarterback Davis Warren was injured on a sack. While the sack was eliminated by a sideline interference penalty, Alex Orji was forced into action. Orji, who was the projected starter heading into the season, was beat out by Warren, who walked on to the team.
On consecutive drives to start the game, Milroe was sacked on fourth down, fumbled the ball, threw an interception and lost yet another fumble. Despite having incredible field position on all four possessions, Alabama’s defense held Michigan to three field goals and allowed just a single touchdown.
When asked if he had considered benching Milroe at any point during the loss, Alabama Head Coach Kalen DeBoer was adamant about sticking with the Katy native. “No, I didn’t,” DeBoer said. “I saw a fighter. The fight in his eyes. As long as I see that, I want to hang in there with the guys this program means a lot to.”
Milroe – who is a redshirt Junior, didn’t reveal his plans for the coming season when asked following the game. “Right now, I’m just gonna try to soak up this moment, today, and not really try to focus on any future endeavors.” The quarterback is currently a projected to be a second-round pick by Tankathon.com, going 35th overall to the New York Giants.
Despite the loss, DeBoer’s first season at 9-4 is the best of any first-year Alabama coach in the modern era. Two coaches had better records in the first year: Harold Drew and Frank Thomas, but coached in 1947 and 1931 respectively. The Crimson Tide joined the SEC in 1932 as one of its initial 13 members.
His first year included a signature win against then No. 2 Georgia, wins against No. 19 Missouri, No. 15 South Carolina and an Iron Bowl win. The team was also briefly ranked as the No. 1 team before falling to unranked Vanderbilt on the road.
When asked to evaluate the success of the season, DeBoer stressed the importance of learning from his debut year. “Every time you’re in the locker room and you have something like this, it’s disappointing. But I think there’s a lot of things that you take from it… We’re going to take all these things that happened, and there’s some things that happened in the game today, too, that we’ve got to learn from and make sure that those mistakes don’t hurt us a year from now.”
