ORLANDO, Fla. — At times Wednesday, No. 13 Alabama resembled the team many thought would advance to the College Football Playoff for a sixth straight year. However, playing without a national title at stake for the first time since the 2013 season, the Crimson Tide still saw some of the frustrations of a forgettable November follow it into the new year.

Alabama struggled to tackle on defense early and trailed heading into the half. Still, the Crimson Tide’s high-powered offense provided plenty of big plays as its defense improved throughout the afternoon as it beat No. 14 Michigan 35-16 in the Citrus Bowl.

Alabama scored on its first offensive play as Mac Jones hit Jerry Jeudy for an 85-yard touchdown. Later in the game, Jones connected with DeVonta Smith for a 42-yard score to put the Crimson Tide up 21-16 on its first possession of the third quarter. Jeudy led Alabama with 204 receiving yards and a touchdown on six catches, while Smith pulled in three receptions for 56 yards and a score.

Jeudy’s totals move him to 1,164 receiving yards on the season, joining Smith (1,256 receiving yards) in reaching the 1,000-yard mark. The duo became the first pair of Alabama receivers to attain the feat in the same season. After winning the Biletnikoff Award with 1,315 receiving yards last year Jeudy also became the third Alabama player with two 1,000-yards seasons, joining Amari Cooper (2012, 2014) and D.J. Hall (2006, 2007).

The last time Alabama played in a bowl game without a national title at stake was during the 2014 Sugar Bowl when it suffered a 45-31 loss to Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide’s last win in such an occasion occurred in 2011 when it dismantled Michigan State 49-7 in the Captial One Bowl (now called the Citrus Bowl). This year’s game fell somewhere in between.

Michigan outgained Alabama 286-205 in the first half as the Wolverines went into the break up 16-14 after a Citrus Bowl record 57-yard field goal from kicker Quinn Nordin.

Led by freshman running back Zack Charbonnet, Michigan marched down the field against a porous Alabama defense. However, the Wolverines were unable to capitalize on their early success, finding the end zone only once on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Shea Patterson to tight end Nick Eubanks.

Patterson, a former Ole Miss quarterback who suffered a 66-3 defeat to Alabama in 2017, completed 17 of 37 passes for 233 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions. Charbonnet had 81 yards on 13 carries, while fellow running back Hassan Haskins recorded 61 yards on 18 attempts.

Trailing Alabama 21-16 early in the fourth quarter, Michigan appeared on its way to a potential scoring drive. However, facing a first-and-10 from the Alabama 30-yard line, Patterson was sacked by Shane Lee for a loss of 10 yards. That ultimately pushed the Wolverines out of field-goal range as they were forced to punt two plays later.

That’s as close as Michigan would get as Alabama made the Wolverines pay for their inefficiencies on the ensuing possession. Facing third-and-11 from its own 8-yard line, Jones found Jeudy for a 14-yard gain to keep the Crimson Tide’s drive alive. On the next play, Jones hit Jeudy for 58 yards. The right-hander followed that up with a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Miller Forristall to give Alabama a commanding 28-16 lead with 10:01 remaining.

Making his fourth start in replacement of injured quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Jones completed 16 of 25 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns.

Running back Najee Harris carried the ball 24 times for 136 yards with two touchdowns. The pair of scores marked the eighth straight game Harris has found the end zone. The junior’s 100-yard performance was his sixth of the season.

After stumbling on defense in the first half, the Crimson Tide stiffened up after the break. Alabama allowed just 109 second-half yards, outgaining Michigan 480-395 on the afternoon.

Xavier McKinney for Alabama’s team led with 10 tackles while also tallying a sack. Anferenee Jennings also had 10 stops, recording .5 sacks. Freshmen linebackers Christian Harris and Shane Lee had nine tackles apiece, while Josh Jobe and Shyheim Carter both recorded interceptions.

Alabama’s win marked its 39th bowl victory. The Crimson Tide is 39-25-3 all-time in bowl games.

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