The Michigan Wolverines and Florida Gators last met at the Citrus Bowl under different circumstances. Their programs seek rebirth and a return to glory.
Michigan and Florida are blue bloods. Winning is not anything to get excited about. That part is expected. National championships and major bowl games like the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl are the kinds of things the programs live for.
And for much of the last five years, the whole recruiting cycles for many of the players and coaches on these teams, they were a dream. They were constant reminders of what the programs were but could not get anymore.
Michigan missed a bowl game in the 2015 season, the school’s first year without a bowl game since the 2009 season (ironically the year after the team played Florida in the Capital One Bowl). This would not do.
Florida too was in a similar place. The Gators missed a bowl game in 2013, their first year without a bowl game since 1990. Last year they ended up in the Birmingham Bowl against the American Conference’s East Carolina.
For both schools, it felt like the mighty had fallen.
Then came light in the form of new coaches. A new attitude and confidence about the program. The swagger was slowly creeping back. And where they landed in their bowl games certainly seems to suggest they are making their way back to national relevance again.
Jim Harbaugh was the conquering hero to return to Michigan. The true Michigan man with NFL gravitas and real college football success, having resurrected Stanford into a national powerhouse. Here was someone who could truly change the culture and Michigan and make them the powerhouse they always were.
He reformed the team in one year, taking the players that underachieved with Brady Hoke and turning them into a formidable team. It helped getting a boost from a senior transfer at quarterback in Jake Ruddock and inheriting a defense.
But that attitude is more than back.
It happened too at Florida, just maybe not in the same way.
Jim McElwain came to Gainesville with an “aw shucks” demeanor, but a steely resolve. He built off the defense left him from Will Muschamp and installed a much more free and open offense. Or at least tried.
McElwain is not a defensive coach, but he brought confidence back to the team and they started winning games, dominating opponents with that suffocating defense.
Both Florida and Michigan are not all the way back, not truly. These are two programs playing with the old guys’ players infusing new energy. They seem to have done that and added the recruiting piece to the puzzle. These are two programs trending back up in the right direction.
The Citrus Bowl has that big-time feel to it again. Minnesota and Missouri were fun upstarts in last year’s game. They were worthy participants in this premiere bowl game. But Florida and Michigan has a lot of juice to it. Ticket sales certainly agree. The names alone guarantee that.
And both programs should expect better seasons next year.
It is not only the recruiting, but young players getting better and systems and processes setting in. Michigan and Florida have reasons to be optimistic. And their pedigree certainly helps with that.
Both teams accomplished a lot simply getting to the Citrus Bowl, likely ahead of schedule. Winning is only a bonus.
These two teams play a very similar style. Focus on defense, controlling the ball, limiting turnovers and winning field position.
Both the Gators and the Wolverines have defenses in the top five in the country by S&P+. They do not give much of an inch.
In the last few weeks of the season, particularly after Will Grier’s suspension, Florida’s offense became particularly anemic. The Gators simply could not move the ball at all.
That does not mean Florida does not have weapons. Just that they were never used consistently or effectively. For the Gators to have any chance, Treon Harris has to have a decent game. Or at least complete a few passes.
Michigan, too has that strong defense. As strong if not stronger than Florida. The Wolverines have a bit of a steadier offense. Not a world beater by any means, but dangerous nonetheless.
Ruddock is an experienced quarterback who makes good throws and rarely makes mistakes. He has weapons in tight end Jake Butt and receivers Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh along with running back De’Veon Smith.
The Wolverines have been more consistent through the year and seem a bit further along than the Gators. In this matchup, this is not the unit for a struggling offense to get its feet wet or get going. Florida has questions to answer this offseason.
And so does Michigan. Because the most difficult thing to do after sudden and new success is to repeat it.
Both of these programs have that pedigree to do it. But that is no guarantee of anything in the end. Will Muschamp was successful his first year as was Brady Hoke. They both fell hard and left their program in dark places.
This game is a signal of what can be with these programs and should be again with the talent. Whether the next time Michigan and Florida face off they will still be trending up (a playoff battle or a rebirth yet again), is yet to be written.
For now they should just enjoy the ride.
Prediction: Michigan 24, Florida 10
