The College Football Playoff bracket is set, and like expected, Michigan was not included. The 18th-ranked Wolverines instead began waiting to find out which bowl game they would take part in.
Given USC’s contractual agreements with its former conference, the Pac-12, Michigan is the highest-ranked Big Ten team not in the playoffs. Thus, it has been expected for about a week now that the Wolverines would head to the Citrus Bowl.
And that’s exactly how it shook out. Michigan will take on No. 13 Texas in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 31.
Expectations for the Wolverines 2025 season were varied. The 2024 season was disappointing, especially coming off a national championship in 2023, but the end of the year offered some hope. Michigan took down Ohio State in Columbus, then took down Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl to gain some momentum heading into 2025.
Especially with the No. 1 recruit in the nation, freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, earning the starting spot, no one really knew what to expect from the maize and blue. Well, it turned out to be a largely chalk season.
Michigan beat the teams it was expected to beat, and lost to the teams it was favored to lose to. All three of the teams the Wolverines lost to finished as a top-16 team. Ohio State landed at No. 2, Oklahoma at No. 8, and USC at No. 16.
While it didn’t have a bad loss, it also didn’t have a signature win. Michigan’s best win of the year was either its win at Nebraska or home against Washington, and neither team ended up ranked in the top-25 in the final rankings. Still, it’s disingenuous to count a 9-3 season in the Big Ten with a freshman quarterback as a disappointment.
The Wolverines are one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten, and they have a lot to build on moving forward. But it’s not yet time to flip the page, because Michigan still has one more test in 2025.
What To Expect Against Texas In The Citrus Bowl
In a non-playoff bowl game, it’s hard to predict what each team will look like. Players may opt to sit out due to NFL Draft hopes, creating personnel differences for each team.
In this game, however, it’s expected that both teams’ starting quarterbacks will take part in the matchup.
Like Underwood, Texas quarterback Arch Manning is also a former No. 1 overall recruit. The nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, Arch has been under a microscope since he stepped onto the field. While he’s had his share of struggles at the college level, he’s led the Longhorns to a solid season.
In the first game of the year, then-top ranked Texas took on then-No. 3 Ohio State. The Longhorns lost the extremely low-scoring affair by a score of 14-7, starting off the season 0-1. They lost two more games in SEC play to unranked Florida and No. 5 Georgia, ultimately bouncing them out of playoff consideration.
Texas runs a pass-heavy offense, which has given the Wolverines problems at times this season, and the Longhorns might try to exploit their young and relatively inexperienced secondary. Still, if Michigan can fully take away Texas’ rush attack, it might be able to force mistakes through the air.
While Texas isn’t in the playoff field, it is certainly a playoff-caliber squad, so Michigan will have its hands full on Dec. 31.
