{"id":71298,"date":"2024-12-31T20:04:42","date_gmt":"2025-01-01T01:04:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=71298"},"modified":"2025-09-13T16:11:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T20:11:02","slug":"milroes-turnovers-the-difference-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/12\/31\/milroes-turnovers-the-difference-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Milroe\u2019s Turnovers The Difference Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jalen Milroe\u2019s<\/a> turnovers were the difference again in Alabama\u2019s 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Milroe\u2019s three first-half turnovers led to 13 Wolverine points. Michigan\u2019s pressure was an issue throughout the game, recording five sacks while missing top defenders <\/span>Mason Graham<\/a>, Kenneth Grant<\/a>, and Josaiah Stewart<\/a>, who opted out for the NFL Draft. That short-handed defense held Milroe to only seven yards rushing on 16 carries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bama ran the ball 29 total times for 68 yards, averaging only 2.3 yards per carry. They were four for 13 on third down, missed all three fourth-down attempts, and lost time of possession by over 16 minutes. The defense only allowed 190 yards of offense, but gave up 100 yards rushing to backup running back Jordan Marshall<\/a>, starting for Donovan Edwards<\/a> who also opted out for the draft. Michigan\u2019s early lead allowed them to stick to their conservative offensive playbook. It all led to another loss against a major underdog. The perfect microcosm for Alabama\u2019s season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Milroe\u2019s Turnovers The Difference Again<\/h2>\n

Early Dice Roll<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Milroe started the game with a first-down completion to Germie Bernard<\/a>. Then two Milroe runs and a Jam Miller<\/a> run got them to fourth and four. DeBoer opted to go for it and Milroe got sacked by Derrick Moore<\/a> for a turnover on downs. Michigan got the ball at their own 45. They only gained 17 yards, but that\u2019s all they needed to kick a 45-yard field goal and go up 3-0.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Milroe Madness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On Alabama\u2019s next possession, the drizzling rain turned into a torrential downpour. The first snap slipped right through Milroe\u2019s hands causing a fumble. He dove on it, but it popped right up into the arms of Moore at the Alabama 19. The Crimson Tide defense held Michigan to a three-and-out and they kicked another field goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alabama needed to get something going on offense. Instead, Milroe got stuffed in the backfield on one play and then was intercepted on the next by Wesley Walker<\/a>. Michigan started at the 15 and the Alabama defense finally buckled. Davis Warren<\/a> hit Frederick Moore<\/a> on a beautiful back shoulder throw and catch for a touchdown to go up 13-0.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bad somehow got worse when Milroe was sacked and fumbled, his third turnover in four plays. The Wolverines started in the Alabama red zone again. But the defense locked it down and Michigan settled for another field goal. Bama had -2 total yards in the first quarter. Under the circumstances, it was a miracle to only be down 16-0.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fortunes Flip<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The teams exchanged punts on the next four possessions. Finally, the offense got going when a block from All-American Parker Brailsford<\/a> sprung Rico Scott<\/a> on a reverse for 28 yards. CJ Dippre<\/a> caught a 15-yard screen and avoided disaster when his fumble was recovered by Alabama. Next play, Milroe hit a wide-open Robbie Ouzts<\/a> for a 25-yard touchdown cutting the Wolverines’ lead to nine.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Michigan moved the ball to midfield and punted it down inside the five. Alabama was willing to go to half, but Michigan took a timeout. On third down, Milroe broke a 41-yard run. Next play, he hit Bernard for a 41-yard completion down to the six. The Wolverines defense held this time and Bama\u2019s field goal made it 16-10 at half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Injury Influence<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The teams spent the majority of the third quarter exchanging punts. Warren left the game with a leg injury and was replaced by Alex Orji<\/a>. The absence was felt when an Orji pass was intercepted by Zabien Brown<\/a>. Even with good field position, the offense ended up with fourth and seven. DeBoer went for it again and failed again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jihaad Campbell<\/a> left the game injured and Michigan\u2019s run game started to wear the defense down. They ran it eight times for 47 yards on the drive which ended with a 37-yard field goal and a two-score lead. Aided by a roughing the passer call, Alabama cut the lead to 19-13 with a 51-yard field goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming Up Short<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With 2:34 left in the game, Ryan Williams<\/a> broke a huge 38-yard punt return putting them in great field position. Milroe completed passes to Bernard and Miller to get them down to the 15 with just over a minute left. But the Michigan defense had one last stand. Their continuous pressure caused four straight Milroe incompletions that ended the game and the season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2025 Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The 2024 team has more losses than any Alabama team since 2007, Nick Saban\u2019s first year. DeBoer has a lot of work to do this offseason in the hyper-competitive SEC. The biggest question going into 2025 will be Milroe. He could leave for the NFL, but his draft stock has taken a major hit over the last two months. He could return to Tuscaloosa, contend for a national title, and improve on his fundamentals. If he does, he could catapult himself into top-pick contention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There will be turnover as always with All-Americans like Campbell, Malachi Moore, and Tyler Booker<\/a> moving on. But a school like Alabama is never bereft of talent. According to <\/span>247Sports<\/span><\/i>, they landed 10 of the top 100 recruits. Even if Milroe leaves, quarterback Keelon Russell is on his way, the second-best overall recruit in the country. With existing players and transfers, they will have the requisite roster. But can DeBoer take them to another level? He\u2019s on the big stage now and must respond accordingly. With all the talent comes all the expectations. Another disappointing season like this and his seat quickly gets red hot. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jalen Milroe\u2019s turnovers were the difference again in Alabama\u2019s 19-13 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Milroe\u2019s three first-half turnovers led to 13 Wolverine points. Michigan\u2019s pressure was an issue throughout the game, recording five sacks while missing top defenders Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and Josaiah Stewart, who opted out for the NFL Draft. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5300,"featured_media":71307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,35574,3],"tags":[33530,35,5153,8115,279,41,9742],"class_list":["post-71298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-alabama-crimson-tide","category-sec","tag-2025-nfl-draft","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-all-american","tag-kalen-deboer","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-nick-saban","tag-reliaquest-bowl"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71298","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5300"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71298"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71298\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71309,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71298\/revisions\/71309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71298"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71298"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71298"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}