Despite a frustrating season, Michigan football closed out 2024 with a bang. On New Year's Eve, Sherrone Moore and the Wolverines pulled off a huge upset over Alabama 19-13 in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

Michigan came into this game as a massive underdog, as it was playing without nearly all of its best players. Defensive tackle Mason Graham and cornerback Will Johnson, both of whom are projected to be top 10 picks in the NFL Draft, both opted out of the game. Michigan was also playing without both of its running backs, Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings, and quarterback Davis Warren got injured during the game.

Despite all of that, the Wolverines still pulled together and got the win. After the game, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden and former Michigan tight end Jake Butt both shouted out Moore and his team on social media.

“The way the team finished shows the culture and mentality that led to their success the 3 years prior, is still fully in tact, but now you have a coach who has earned the right to be confident going forward,” Butt wrote as part of his statement on X, formerly Twitter. “Add in the commitment for NIL and you have a Michigan program that will be back competing for conference and national titles next year.”

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Gruden took to X to give credit to both Moore and Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who is very well-known in NFL circles due to his long list of experience at the pro level.

Martindale's defense put on a show in this game. The Wolverines forced three early turnovers by Jalen Milroe, all deep in Alabama territory, that set up 16 Michigan points to give it a huge lead early in the game. After that, even as the Michigan offense sputtered and struggled to get anything going, Martindale's defense answered the bell time and time again. At the end of the game, his defense got one final stop down in the red zone to preserve the win.

Even though this season as a frustrating one in Ann Arbor, Michigan will enter the offseason with a ton of momentum after closing its year with wins over Ohio State and Alabama. Even in a year where the team struggled mightily on offense, it was still able to pull off a pair of marquee upset wins, which will give Moore and company plenty to build off of heading into 2025.