Different teams and head coaches, but Michigan and Alabama will play in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve, in a rematch of last year’s Rose Bowl national semifinal.

This is the third time in five years that the two teams will face off in the postseason. Michigan defeated Alabama, 27-20, in overtime at the Rose Bowl, en route to winning the 2023 national championship. The teams will play at noon at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 31.

“This is a great opportunity for our team to finish the season against an outstanding SEC opponent in Alabama,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said Sunday in a statement. “We look forward to competing against Coach Kalen DeBoer and his highly ranked Crimson Tide.”

Alabama, 9-3, and now coached by DeBoer — who replaced Nick Saban after he retired — was the first team left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff, in favor of SMU. The Crimson Tide are No. 11 in the final CFP rankings but SMU, No. 10, was the last team in, as an at-large bid, when the bracket was announced Sunday.

The Wolverines, who with two games left in the regular season, needed to win one to reach bowl eligibility in Moore’s first season as head coach — he replaced Jim Harbaugh — finished the regular season at 7-5, highlighted by a 13-10 upset of Ohio State in Ohio Stadium in the regular-season finale. This will be their 53rd bowl appearance.

“The ReliaQuest Bowl staff has a strong reputation for running an outstanding bowl game and game day experience for the student-athletes, coaches and fans,” Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said in a statement.

This will be the sixth meeting between Michigan and Alabama during the bowl season, with U-M holding a 3-2 series advantage. Michigan beat Alabama in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl (28-24), 2000 Orange Bowl (35-34, 1 OT) and 2024 Rose Bowl while Alabama defeated Michigan in the 1997 Outback Bowl (17-14) and 2020 Citrus Bowl (35-16).

This season, the Wolverines finished ranked No. 128, averaging 294.3 yards and 112th in scoring (22.3). The Wolverines’ defense, however, ranked No. 14 nationally, yielding an average of 310.9 yards and was No. 3 against the run (92.6) and tied for 24th in scoring (20.5 points).

Alabama’s offense ranks 38th nationally, averaging 422.8 yards, and 17th in scoring, averaging 35.5 points.

The Tide’s defense is ranked No. 32 (330.9) and No. 10 in scoring (17.3 points).

It’s unclear what the Michigan team will look like, however, with players opting out for the NFL and others transferring.

Michigan already has seven players in the transfer portal, which opens Monday.