Three bowl matchups I’d rather see for Alabama football than a rematch with Michigan

Alabama and Michigan will meet on Tuesday, December 31, for the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, Florida in a rematch of the 2023-24 Playoff semifinal

Don’t get me wrong seeing a rematch with Michigan is fun, but for No. 11 Alabama, who went 9-3 and missed the playoffs by a narrow margin, a matchup with 7-5 unranked Michigan feels like a disappointing way to end the season. Alabama should see an opportunity to prove they should be in the playoff, and with a shellacking of Michigan, who beat No. 7 Ohio State to finish the year, they could do that. But still, a mismatched bowl game feels like a letdown to finish Kalen DeBoer’s first season. 

With the current conference-aligned bowl system, it’s unlikely to see better matchups emerge outside of the playoff. But in a different system, the bowl games could still be fun, and we could have better matchups. With that in mind, here are three bowl matchups for Alabama that I think would be more entertaining than Michigan, completely disregarding how the bowl system currently works.

Three bowl matchups that would be more interesting for Alabama Football

Proposed: Alabama v. Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl

Current: Iowa State v. Miami 

Before the ACC Championship, the big playoff debate was Alabama v. Miami for the final at large bid. Factor in the history of Alabama and Miami, and it seems like a no-brainer to make this game happen. 

The Pop-Tart Bowl is played in Orlando each year, not perfectly between Miami and Tuscaloosa, but close enough that you’ll have a good crowd representing both sides. Miami finished the year 10-2 and ranked No.13 in the nation and is a better matchup for Alabama than slumping Michigan. Not to mention the hype around the quarterback battle. Jalen Milroe against Cam Ward would be must-watch TV. 

Proposed: Alabama v. Colorado in the Valero Alamo Bowl

Current: BYU v. Colorado 

Coach Prime against Alabama, Shedeur Sanders against Jalen Milroe, Ryan Williams against Travis Hunter. Do I need to say anything else? The hype around this game would be bigger than the game itself, but it would be a solid matchup.

Colorado finished the year 5-1 and were on the edge of the playoff picture until the Buffs lost to Kansas in week 13. Matching up an Alabama team that felt disrespected by being left out of the playoff picture with a Colorado team that has two potential top-five NFL Draft picks is a great and easy matchup. 

Proposed: Alabama v. Ole Miss in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl

Current: Iowa v. Missouri

There are two elephants in the room with this game. One, The Music City Bowl isn’t the biggest of Bowl Games. But the game will be as big as the teams who play, and Nashville is a beneficial location for both sides. 

Two, no one wants to play a conference opponent in a bowl game. However, with the expanded SEC and Ole Miss no longer being a regular opponent, are you really that mad about playing a conference opponent? 

Lane Kiffin was considered a viable option to replace Kalen DeBoer following the retirement of Nick Saban, giving this game a fun off-the-field storyline. Both of these teams beat Georgia, and both were on the edge of the playoff discussion down to the final week. 

When you factor in the quarterback battle of Jaxson Dart against Jalen Milroe and the discussion around who is trending in the right direction as a program, Alabama or Ole Miss, you have one of the best matchups outside of the playoff.