Alabama football arrives in Tampa, How to Watch Friday Bowl Games

Happy Friday, everyone. There are five bowl games on for you today including four featuring SEC teams, two of which were the losses that knocked Alabama out of the playoffs. At 11am, Oklahoma will face Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. At 2:30 you’ll have the Birmingham Bowl between Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, Arkansas plays Texas Tech in the Liberty at 6pm, and then Texas A&M closes the day at 9:30 against USC. All of those will be on ESPN, while Fox has a prime time Holiday Bowl matchup of Syracuse vs Washington State for the true college football masochist junkie.

Use this as your open thread to discuss the action.

Alabama and Michigan have arrived in Tampa.

“It’s a huge deal for Tampa, with the TV exposure — ESPN at noon on New Year’s Eve — and the exposure of fans coming to the Tampa Bay area and seeing that, yes, we are open after the hurricanes we’ve had.”

Both teams will enjoy sunshine-filled festivities before the game next week.

“Well, the teams are here to play football, so there are a few practice sessions, but there will also be a day for them at Busch Gardens and a beach day on Sunday, where thousands of the fans will be at Clearwater Beach, and hopefully they can enjoy warmer weather than Michigan.”

Bowl games are supposed to be rewards for teams that had positive seasons, complete with a little vacation experience for the players. The playoff has cheapened them, and that will never not be sad.

Alabama will bring a nearly full squad to the game, and Tyler Booker intends on taking care of business.

Alabama (9-3) was the last team omitted from the new 12-team playoff format, while the Wolverines (7-5) weren’t even in the running.

That represents quite a descent for a Michigan program that beat Alabama 27-20 in overtime in last season’s CFP semifinal at the Rose Bowl before rolling to a 34-13 victory over Washington in the championship game.

The New Year’s Eve game is more for pride this season with no true way to salvage the season.

But Alabama standout guard Tyler Booker has found a goal worth fighting for — stretching the Crimson Tide’s streak of 10-win seasons to 17.

“There’s a lot of goals that we had set out in front of us before this year took place,” Booker told reporters. “And, obviously, we can’t achieve most of those goals now. But one of the goals that is left to achieve is reaching 10 wins. So that’s at the forefront of our minds right now, and going out to Tampa and getting a ‘W’.”

Michigan is in a different place roster-wise, as several prominent players have opted out, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t good players waiting in the wings.

Michigan will see a changing of the guard at a few positions this week, but it may be most prevalent along the defensive line. With Graham, Grant and Stewart not expected to play, Michigan will be without 96 quarterback pressures, 56 run stops, 15.0 sacks and 26.5 tackles for loss.

Still, this is maybe the one position group on the entire team that has proven it reloads more often than it rebuilds. So which players will we be watching to see in extended action against Alabama?

-With reports surfacing that Barham may finally get an extended run at edge next year (NFL scouts view his long-term potential there), Tuesday could be a showcase of that.

-Derrick Moore and TJ Guy have said they are returning to Michigan for the 2025 season, but those decisions are always fluid and could change with a big game against Alabama’s offensive line. Still, they could introduce themselves as Michigan’s next star edge duo.

Kennington Smith III examines Alabama’s portal needs that still need to be filled.

Safety: Smith’s departure was the most consequential of any for Alabama as he was a starter in 2024 in the slot and would’ve been in 2025. There are still some good pieces behind him in DaShawn Jones and Red Morgan, but the safety position could use some more experience. The front-line starters seem strong: Sabb, Bray Hubbard and Jones/Morgan, but there’s a considerable gap in depth. A versatile defensive back with some game experience would be a nice addition.

Offensive/defensive line: The defensive line is going to be hit hard. James Smith is an exciting young player, and adding Collins helps, but this group could use an impactful player if one emerges from a Playoff roster or in the spring portal window. The interior of the offensive line was addressed with the addition of Dewberry. It would be nice to add another tackle who can provide some competition.

Not sure why he’s classifying the Husky position as a safety, but finding someone who can be successful in that spot will be critical. Hubbard and Sabb should be fine on the back end. Some additional reinforcements along both lines are always welcome.

Last, I failed to mention that Alabama got a 2026 in-state commit yesterday.

The 6-foot-1, 174-pound Gibson was high school teammates with current Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr., whose father, Dre Kirkpatrick Sr., played in the NFL after his own Crimson Tide career. Gibson and the Titans finished the 2024 season 6-4, and fell to Clay-Chalkville in the playoffs.

Alabama just wrapped up its 2025 recruiting class, Kalen DeBoer’s first full cycle as the Crimson Tide’s head coach. DeBoer’s initial effort was fairly successful, ranking as the No. 2 class nationally, beyond only Texas according to the 247 composite.

Needless to say, it’s a long time until next December in the wild and woolly world of college football recruiting.

That’s about it for today. Have a great weekend.

Roll Tide.