For the second game in a row, Michigan Football, which was clearly in a transition season, was a colossal underdog against a college football blue blood. But for the second time in as many games, Wink Martindale and the Michigan defense locked down the opponent's offense and carried the team to a stunning 19-13 victory over Alabama.

The ending of Tuesday's win over Alabama was shockingly similar to last season's finish at the Rose Bowl. Michigan's defense stopped Jalen Milroe on fourth down in the red zone to secure the victory.

Michigan finished the 2024 season 8-5, which, at a quick glance looks extremely poor. But all things considered, an 8-5 season with the wins Michigan came away with, could be looked at as a solid record.

There needs to be a more appreciation for how Wink Martindale completely reshaped the Michigan defense throughout the course of the 2024 season. If you remember back to Sept. 7, a Week 2 contest against No. 3 Texas, the Wolverines were ranked in the Top 10 and had a big measuring stick game against the Longhorns.

But Michigan measured poorly.

The 10th-ranked Wolverines gave up 24 first-half points while the Longhorns marched up and down the field on Martindale's defense. Texas was beating Michigan so badly at the Big House that head coach Steve Sarkisian called off the dogs and limited his offense to a very vanilla style, easing up on Michigan.

Quinn Ewers threw for 246 yards and three touchdowns in the 31-12 blowout, but it could have been a lot more had Sarkisian not let up.

But as the weeks went by, Michigan's defense improved. The Wolverines allowed 30 or more points just one other time the rest of the season (Oregon, 38), and in the final six games of the season, only two opponents managed to hit the 20-point mark against Martindale and the Wolverines.

Defensive performances from Martindale and Co. in the team's final two games against Ohio State and Alabama will live in Michigan lore for a long time.

A Buckeye offense that scores nearly 40 points per contest and one that dropped 41 points on No. 1 Oregon, was held to 10 inside their own stadium, sending Ohio State fans into a state of lunacy.

And Martindale held Alabama's offense to just 13 points, forcing three turnovers.

About midway through the 2024 season, Michigan fans were indifferent on Martindale. Some thought he was doing a fine job with the pieces he had, and others believed he needed to be fired.

But the games at the tail end of the season — especially the one on the last Saturday in November — matter a whole lot more than those at the beginning, and in the last few games, Martindale proved he can be Michigan's next elite defensive coordinator.

It's never fun when Michigan's football season ends and everyone has to wait eight months for a new year of Wolverines football. This year, though, the best thing about the season ending is that Michigan fans will — hopefully — never have to watch such inept quarterback play from their favorite team as long as they live.

Michigan's equipment staff will need to do a deep cleanse of every football, helmet, set of shoulder pads, playbook, door handle, and anything else the quarterbacks touched throughout the course of the season to make sure

As a team, the Wolverines threw for 1,678 yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 13 games. That tells you just about all you need to know: This passing game was atrocious.

Oh, and Michigan never completed a pass of 40 yards or more all season.

This is all after former offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell stood in front of reporters with a straight face before the season and said the Wolverines have an explosive offense with explosive weapons.

Heading into 2025, Michigan should not have the issues it did at quarterback this season. There are two quality options that should be able to win the Wolverines games.

Bryce Underwood, the five-star freshman, and Mikey Keene, the fifth-year senior, will battle it out for the starting role in 2025. Of course, Underwood has the much higher ceiling, while Keene provides Michigan with stability and certainty.

Regardless of who the starter is in 2025, Michigan will not be faced with the same problems it was struggling with in 2024.

Tuesday's game played out perfectly for true freshman Jadyn Davis to see significant playing time. When starting quarterback Davis Warren went down with an injury in the third quarter, the expectation among Michigan fans was that the talented youngster would see the field in an expanded role after playing just one snap during the regular season.

Instead, Alex Orji entered the game and Michigan's offense got as one-dimensional as a service academy.

In the quarter-and-a-half that Orji was in at QB, he attempted only three passes for a total of 2 yards and an interception. He did a sensational job of hammering home the previous point about quarterback play.

As Michigan ran the ball over and over, Davis just stood on the sidelines, waiting for the coaches to call his name. They never did.

Michigan won the game, so it's hard to critique too much of the scheme, but if Davis didn't see the field in a meaningless bowl game with one of the worst quarterback rooms in Michigan football history, when will he?

Of course, it's perfectly normal for true freshman quarterbacks to simply not be ready for the size and speed of the college game in their first season, but Michigan's quarterback room was historically awful. Why not give Davis a shot?

With Underwood and Keene coming into the fold in 2025, Davis' future as a Wolverine is looking awfully bleak.

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