Michigan
Staff Predictions: Michigan Football vs Alabama Crimson Tide
The final game of the 2024 season is nearly upon us, as the Michigan Wolverines will meet with the Alabama Crimson Tide in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve. This will be the second meeting in the 2024 calendar year between these two squads, and this one is obviously a lot less meaningful than the first one at the Rose Bowl.
For the final time in 2024, the Maize n Brew staff came together to answer some questions about the upcoming game, as well as taking a quick look back at The Game.
Before we really dive in, we have to discuss Michigan’s fourth straight victory over Ohio State, with this one being the biggest upset of them all. Jot down any thoughts you had/still have from that game.
Von: Man…how awesome was that? Michigan going into Columbus as a three-touchdown underdog, with a former walk-on quarterback that was benched earlier in the season, no Will Johnson, no Colston Loveland, no Donovan Edwards in the second half…no problem for Michigan. It isn’t my favorite win in The Game ever, but it sure was the most funny of them all because A) The huge point spread, B) Michigan prevented OSU from going to the Big Ten Championship, and C) Ryan Day and Chip Kelly were baited into running the ball over and over, only to have their ball-carriers be met by Buckeye slayer and Michigan legend Mason Graham at the line of scrimmage. The team planted the Michigan flag even further down into the minds of every Buckeye on Nov. 30, 2024. Better luck next year!
Kellen: It was nice to see Ohio Rep. Josh Williams get properly roasted online after proposing a bill that would make flag planting a felony at Ohio Stadium. That was one of the dumbest ideas I’ve seen a politician propose on a low-stakes manner in a long time. I was also reading every single article about Ohio State reflecting on the loss and trying to downplay the importance of The Game after losing it four years in a row. At this point, Sherrone Moore has rented a condo inside Ryan Day’s head, and that condo will still be there when Ohio State loses to Oregon in the quarterfinals.
Sam: Harbaugh has inflicted Day with the notion that if you don’t run the ball, you’re not a real Big Ten team. I think that has never been more apparent than this matchup. This one felt like the biggest stamp on the complete turnover the rivalry has seen over the last few years.
Jake: I will never forget when the air was taken out of Ohio Stadium as Michigan led 13-10 late in the fourth quarter. I never expected strong quarterback play, but seeing the defense and the offensive line step up like they did against one of the most dominant teams in 2024 still brings a tear to my eye. After Ohio State’s blowout win over Tennessee, it makes the win even more special. The foundation is there to be good for years to come. P.S. Flag planting is a tradition in college football that should never go away.
Now that that’s out of our system, let’s turn our attention to Michigan’s matchup with Alabama. With guys like Colston Loveland, Mason Graham and Will Johnson, among others, not suiting up in this game, what — or who — are you most looking forward to seeing play in this one?
Von: I am really excited to see Jordan Marshall get some snaps at running back. Since Dono and Kalel Mullings won’t be playing, this will provide him, Ben Hall and Micah Ka’apana some carries against a good team in Alabama. These snaps are incredibly meaningful for guys like them, and hopefully springboard them into a pivotal offseason for their individual developments. I am also looking forward to seeing some more playing time for tight end Hogan Hansen, defensive tackles Trey Pierce and Enow Etta, and perhaps we finally see some legitimate snaps for quarterback Jadyn Davis.
Kellen: Give Andy Bailey’s boy Jordan Marshall some run in this one. He has flashed potential on special teams, and I want to see him get the bulk of the carries in this one. I’d also like to see what Michigan actually has in Jadyn Davis, even though he feels like a likely candidate to eventually transfer with Bryce Underwood coming in next year.
Sam: I’m definitely interested in seeing returning front seven guys get more run. The offensive line is always gonna have depth, so I’m sure there will be guys to watch there as well. I’m really more interested in learning more about the early enrollees (despite them not being able to play in this game).
Jake: I cannot wait to see the defense against Alabama. While many pieces on the offense are currently in the transfer portal or out of eligibility, Michigan’s second-stringers on defense will get a ton of snaps against a powerhouse SEC program. I wonder if Jaishawn Barham will get snaps along the edge, and I can’t wait to see TJ Guy, Cam Brandt and Derrick Moore get rotational snaps against future NFL picks. I also want to see Jimmy Rolder and Jaydon Hood get more snaps at linebacker, and I am excited to see Zeke Berry play against the Bama receivers, as he will need to step up as one of the only retuning starters in the secondary next season.
Do you truly care if Michigan wins or loses this game? What will be your level of disappointment/anger/any other emotion if Michigan loses?
Von: The season is over whether or not they win this game, so no, I don’t care about the outcome of this game. Of course, it would be nice if they won, but my day won’t be ruined if they lose like it would be if they lost a rivalry game or lost a College Football Playoff game.
Kellen: I only care because it’s Alabama. Alabama’s fans have been the most annoying all season long for constantly playing the hypothetical game and dunking on the Indiana’s and SMU’s of the world with a results-based argument. While I’m on this tangent, Kirk Herbstreit and ESPN deserve to be on the naughty list. Spending a large portion of the pregame show talking about how Bama, Ole Miss and other SEC teams should have gotten a spot because Indiana lost handily to Notre Dame was absurd. That’s a stupid argument that only became more popular online because the opening round of the CFP was relatively boring. It’s the same argument that happens when 11-13 seeds get blown out in March Madness. We can’t change the entire postseason format and qualifications for getting into the dance because the television product was less than ideal. That’s unfair to the little guys of the sport, and basically every non SEC or Big Ten school. Indiana and SMU earned the right to be blown out. Beating Bama with this mediocre team one year after the Rose Bowl will be satisfying for Michigan fans, and will unfortunately force more of the hypothetical arguments that have made college football Twitter a cesspool in recent weeks.
Sam: No. The CFP ruined non-playoff bowl games. That, coupled with the opt-outs and early transfer portal window, have stained bowl season.
Jake: Obviously, I will always want a Michigan win. Nonetheless, the win is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. The goal in these games is to develop young stars further so they are better next season. There will be a lot of hype around the game, given it is a Rose Bowl rematch, but do not give in. Look for certain pieces that can contribute in 2025, and watch how the coaching staff plays out the game. I want to see how this program performs on a big stage in a game that does not impact ranking or seeding.
Give us a bold prediction or two for the game.
Von: Jordan Marshall rips off an explosive 50+ yard run.
Kellen: Kenneth Grant, who I think is playing in this game, gets a scoop and score touchdown off a Jalen Milroe fumble in the second quarter.
NOTE: Grant has now declared for the draft and won’t be playing)
Sam: I think we’re gonna see Milroe more as a passer.
Jake: 1. With Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards out, expect Benjamin Hall to receive 15-20 carries. Jordan Marshall will be an instrumental piece in 2025, but he didn’t receive many carries this season, and I do not think that will change in this game. It is Hall’s job to lose, and I think Sherrone Moore wants to see what starting potential he has against a dominant defense.
2. The Michigan defense will hold Alabama to less than 100 rushing yards. The Wolverines have been rotating top talent along the line the last few years, and the next men up have continued to produce in their new roles. Not to mention, the Tide’s most productive back, Justice Haynes, is in the portal.
Prediction time! What is the final score and why?
Von: Alabama 38, Michigan 20. I don’t think Michigan has the horses to keep this one close. Thankfully, the Wolverines will head into the offseason with a blank slate thanks to a new offensive coordinator and new starting quarterback.
Kellen: Bama wins, 27-10, because the Wolverines are missing their best players and already won their Super Bowl against Ohio State last month.
Sam: Bama, 31-14. Too much juice from the Tide offense, Michigan will have some fight but I just don’t see the Wolverines winning.
Jake: Alabama 38, Michigan 13. The offense will be lackluster if Davis Warren plays most of the snaps, and it will be hard to move the ball without Mullings or Edwards. Ben Hall will get his touches and yards, but I see this being a high-scoring affair that does not play in Michigan’s favor. With a few interceptions, good field position and a strong passing attack, Alabama should win this one easily. That said, if Michigan can impact the Tide’s game plan early on as it did against the Buckeyes, it definitely has the possibility of being close.
A decade of Celebrate Michigan: See the images that won from 2015 to 2025
The Detroit News’ Celebrate Michigan photo contest is 20 years old. We’ve assembled the best of the best: Winners and runners up from 2015 to 2025.
The Detroit News
Gotion Inc. has asked a federal judge to order the Michigan township where it was supposed to call home to repay the roughly $23.7 million it owes the state in taxpayer-funded incentives.
Green Township’s actions opposing Gotion’s planned battery parts plant made it all but impossible to move forward, the company argued, leaving Gotion in default under its agreement with the state and on the hook for the $23.7 million in taxpayer-funded incentives it received for land purchases and improvements.
“Now that it is clear the project cannot move forward in the face of this continued opposition and the state of Michigan’s withdrawal of support, Gotion seeks to add these constitutional claims and request damages as a result of the township’s breach of the development agreement and violation of Gotion’s constitutional rights,” a May 29 court filing in the case said.
Last week’s filing seeks to amend an earlier lawsuit Gotion filed against Green Township over zoning changes that made its development all but impossible to proceed.
In February, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Gotion’s lawsuit, arguing that it was moot because the state had already found the project in default and had demanded back roughly $23.7 million that had been given to the subsidiary of a Chinese company to purchase and prepare land in Green Township. In light of that ruling, Gotion is seeking to amend its lawsuit to seek additional damages.
“…the Sixth Circuit implied that given the facts of the dispute at this point, the correct form of damages for Gotion’s breach of contract claim against the township is likely monetary damages and no longer injunctive relief,” Gotion said in the May 29 filing.
The amended filing includes demands for damages arising from the “millions” Gotion paid or spent in reliance on the project moving forward, lost profits the company would have made if the manufacturing facility were built, attorney fees and an amount “not less than $23,670,873.56 for funds advanced towards land and development costs related to the project that the state of Michigan is now claiming should be repaid.”
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office, which is seeking to recoup the $23.7 million on behalf of the Michigan Strategic Fund, said it was aware of Gotion’s May 29 filing against Green Township and is “monitoring the situation.” The office declined further comment, citing attorney-client privilege.
Gotion first sued Green Township in March 2024 after the board — all of whom had been replaced in November 2023 with members concerned about the Gotion project — rescinded two resolutions needed for the project to move forward. Gotion sued in federal court for breach of contract, and a U.S. district court judge issued a preliminary ruling in Gotion’s favor.
But the Sixth Circuit later blocked the case after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration, last fall, found Gotion to be in default of its grant agreement.
The state’s finding of default was in part due to the Green Township lawsuit. The company’s agreement with the state prohibits involvement in a suit that “would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the project or the grantee’s performance of its obligations under this agreement.”
The state also maintained Gotion’s “cessation of eligible activities” for a period of 120 days constituted an “abandonment” in violation of the grant agreement.
The Michigan Strategic Fund said it would seek to recoup the $23.7 million used to purchase and prepare land for Gotion in Green Township.
The Gotion project in Green Township was fraught with controversy shortly after its announcement. The company had planned to locate a battery parts plant in the Big Rapids area, creating up to 2,350 jobs and receiving about $175 million in taxpayer-funded incentives for the project.
Local opponents pushed back on the project because of the secretive nature with which it was negotiated, the unknown environmental effects of the project and Gotion’s parent company in China. Those concerns were amplified by Republican candidates in 2024, including both Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump.
The legal maneuverings with Gotion have already come at a cost to the township.
For the past three years, the state Treasury Department has flagged Green Township in Mecosta County because its expenditures have exceeded the amount of money authorized in its annual budget. In a corrective action plan submitted to Treasury last month, the township said its deficits were “primarily due to the legal fees.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
A group of residents on Holland Road in Taylor, Michigan, say they are now doing everything they can to keep their neighborhood the way it is after some of them received a letter saying the city is considering rezoning their neighborhood.
“People across the street from me could have warehouse front property instead of woods and nice residential homes,” said Matthew Streicher.
Streicher, whose family has owned property on Holland Road for more than 100 years, says that has been his concern after he received a letter from the city about a proposed rezoning from residential to light industrial directly behind his home near Wick and Holland roads.
“So that’s when I also decided to start knocking on doors around here and saying this is what is going on, we need to speak out and have a voice as to what happens in our backyards, literally,” said Streicher.
Streicher told CBS News Detroit that three of his neighbors received that letter, informing residents that there’s a possibility of a new cold storage warehouse development if this land is rezoned.
“Nothing that belongs in a neighborhood,” said Tim Adkins.
“Heartbreaking, heartbreaking, you know,” said Denise Haggadone.
Many who live on Holland Road say this possibility is even more disturbing because of how long everyone has lived on this quaint road. And these same homeowners say that an industrial facility would only bring in more traffic and take away natural green space, most likely hurting their property value as well.
“It’s nice to see the wildlife, you know, there’s so few places left,” said Adkins.
On Tuesday, CBS News Detroit spoke off-camera with City Council Chairman Charley Johnson, who also lives on Holland Road. Johnson says he understands all of his neighbors’ concerns and agrees with them.
He says the company proposing this rezoning has every right to do so, and that the planning commission will vote on it Wednesday evening.
“It’s sad, I raised my kid here, and he’s planning on having this home after I pass or retire or what have you,” Haggadone said,
The residents hope to see a big turnout at Wednesday’s planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, at Taylor City Hall.
The Sterling Heights City Council is set to consider a resolution Tuesday evening opposing tax policy bills in Lansing that one councilmember contends put every municipality “at risk.”
The Michigan House voted in May to pass several bills that would slash property taxes across the state, but skipped a vote on a bill needed to replace some of the more than $5 billion in lost tax revenue.
At its Tuesday evening meeting, Sterling Heights City Council is slated to consider the adoption of a resolution opposing Michigan House Bills 5872 through 5879 due to “their potential negative impact on local government revenue, financial planning, and administrative operations,” a city document said. Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool said the city would lose about $5 million in annual revenue from the bills. He said there’s no “guaranteed replacement” for the lost revenue, and the city would need to cut services, he said.
“So we’re deeply concerned about that,” he said.
The House’s sweeping tax cuts can’t be implemented without the passage of a separate bill levying a loosely defined 6% sales tax on services that has yet to be revealed. Republicans who control the House did not hold a vote on the sales tax hike bill, which remains in committee.
All combined, the four property tax cuts passed by the House are estimated to result in a tax revenue loss that could progress from $5.5 billion to $7.5 billion a year, according to a series of nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency analyses.
Vanderpool, the Sterling Heights city manager, said he wants the state Legislature to work “hand in hand” with cities, townships and villages to come up with a solution for “guaranteed revenue replacement.”
“We are more than willing ― I think our reputation precedes us ― to work with our state legislators hand in hand to come up with viable solutions that … may reform property taxes without harming communities across the state,” he said.
Sterling Heights Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko said the legislation reduces the city’s revenue without a guarantee of what it will be replaced with. She said that in the future, the legislation could prevent the city from maintaining positions that it has promised residents it would maintain, including public safety roles.
“When they put the burden on our local government, they’re actually putting it on the residents of whatever community it is,” she said.
State Rep. Steve Frisbie, a Calhoun County Republican, previously said that Michigan residents need to see tax relief immediately. He noted a ballot proposal collecting signatures last year would have eliminated all property taxes in the state. That citizens’ initiative, known as AxMiTax, fizzled out and won’t be on the ballot this fall.
“They realized that our property taxes are too high and they demand that we take action now,” Frisbie said.
More on the bills
The cuts passed by the House in May would eliminate the 6-mill State Education Tax and eliminate the 0.75% real estate transfer tax assessed on the sale price of real estate.
House Republicans also signed off on eliminating the personal property tax. That bill, largely intended to benefit utility companies, is tied to separate legislation that requires utilities such as Consumers Energy and DTE Energy to pass on personal property tax savings by cutting electric and gas rates for their residential customers. It also requires utilities to freeze rates for two years.
Jennifer Varney, Sterling Heights’ finance and budget director, said the elimination of the personal property tax would result in a $4.3 million annual revenue loss for the city. She said the personal property tax refers to the taxes that businesses pay on their assets, such as their machines and vehicles.
Another tax on the chopping block is the so-called “pop-up tax,” an increase in a property tax bill that occurs when a house transfers from one owner to the next in Michigan, uncapping a constitutional limit on the property tax increase on a home’s taxable value.
Under the state Constitution, a property’s taxable value cannot increase by more than the rate of inflation or 5% each year. But when a property is sold, that cap lifts and is reset at a new, often higher taxable value, resulting in a “pop-up” in property taxes.
Varney said the “pop-up” is the only way cities “recapture” the true value of a home. Michigan also has the Headlee Amendment, a state law that requires local governments to roll back millage rates if taxable property values rise faster than the rate of inflation.
“If you take away the pop-up … and you keep the rollback of the millage, you’re basically limiting any kind of growth in taxable base for municipalities,” she said.
Staff Writer Beth LeBlanc contributed.
asnabes@detroitnews.com
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