It didn't look pretty — in fact, it looked a lot like the Wolverines' most recent victory over Ohio State — but Michigan did enough on Tuesday afternoon to defeat Alabama, 19-13. Michigan's three forced turnovers in the first quarter were key in the victory.

With the win, Michigan improves to 8-5 on the season, capping off the season after the national championship. Here are three takeaways from the ReliaQuest Bowl victory.

The first quarter of the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl was one of the most exciting, entertaining and chaotic quarters of football that have ever been played, at any level. Alabama turned the ball over on downs on its first possession of the game, and from that point on, chaos ensued.

Michigan turned the Crimson Tide over on their next three possessions, with Alabama committing a turnover three times in four plays.

Aamir Hall and Dominic Nichols each forced a fumble, and Wesley Walker came up with an interception. Each of the three turnovers set the Wolverines up in the red zone. Unfortunately for Michigan, only one of the three turnovers resulted in a touchdown.

The turnover help from Milroe and Co. subsided as the game went on, but the Michigan defense put together a masterful showing, holding the Alabama offense to just 10 points on the day.

Tensions rose late in the fourth quarter when Alabama kicked a field goal and Michigan's offense sputtered, but the Wolverines were able to pull out the victory, much in part due to Milroe's three turnovers.

If Jadyn Davis didn't see the field in the ReliaQuest Bowl after Davis Warren went down, when will Michigan fans see the true freshman gunslinger? That's the question Michigan fans were asking themselves during and after the game against Alabama.

When Warren went down with an injury in the third quarter, both Alex Orji, who is in the Transfer Portal, and Davis started warming up.

Orji entered the game immediately following Warren's injury, but when the offense failed to produce, Davis became more of a possibility at quarterback for the Wolverines.

However, the true freshman quarterback never entered the game. Michigan leaned heavily on the run game, only attempting three passes after Warren exited the game.

There couldn't have been a more perfect scenario for Davis to enter the game, but the coaching staff opted to go with Orji and the rushing attack late in the second half.

The burning question heading into the offseason is: If Jadyn Davis didn't play in a semi-meaningless bowl game, when will he play with Bryce Underwood coming into the fold in 2025?

Now that the 2024 season is officially over, Michigan will turn to 2025, when it will be expected to put together a much more respectable campaign than it did this year. Sherrone Moore has noted on multiple occasions that the program did not have an opportunity to replenish in the Transfer Portal because of how late the team's 2023 season went.

That hasn't been and won't be an issue for the Wolverines this offseason. Michigan's season is over before the new year, and Moore and Co. have had ample time to get out and hit the Transfer Portal hard.

A few holes will need to be patched up — and some of them already have been — but Michigan is still in on a few prospects that could help improve next year's team.

Bryce Underwood will be the main focus of the offseason, and rightfully so. The five-star quarterback is the talk of Ann Arbor as fans hope the Belleville, Michigan, native can be a significant improvement to one of the worst position groups on the team in 2024.

Underwood will presumably battle Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene and incumbent starter Davis Warren, if he stays at Michigan.

The 2025 schedule shapes up favorably for the Wolverines, which get Ohio State at home and only play one team that finished 2024 with a winning record.

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