MI vs. Florida Citrus Bowl Pick

“It’s a choice”, said Florida Head Coach Jim McElwain. They punted an alarming 80 times, a figure only two other SEC teams, neither of which are playing in a bowl, topped.

Florida players, from left, offensive lineman Antonio Riles (51), offensive lineman Trip Thurman (63) and defensive lineman Bryan Cox (94) leave the field after losing to MI 41-7 in the Citrus Bowl NCAA college football game, Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, in Orlando, Fla.

As a coach who’s enjoyed success at both the collegiate and pro levels, including an appearance in the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, that’s quite a statement. And, when you think about UF there haven’t been many classes that haven’t played a game in that dome for an SEC championship. “Win or lose, we’ll learn from it. Everyday it’s about discovery”.

Florida rushing (113th) vs. MI rush defense (18th): The Gators will rely on Kelvin Taylor (985 yards, 13 TDs) to carry their running game against a stout Wolverines defense.

Miami native Treon Harris has regressed in his sophomore season, but if No. 19 Florida is going to upset No. 14 MI in the Citrus Bowl (1 p.m., ABC), McElwain needs his quarterback to “cut the ball loose”.

Reversing the recent trend, especially on offense, figures to be a daunting challenge.

At the end of the first half, Florida’s Treon Harris threw a woeful interception to U-M’s Jarrod Wilson, dashing Florida’s hopes of tying the game 14-14.

Earlier in the season, the Wolverines pitched three consecutive shutouts.

Callaway then found Harris all alone in the end zone for a score. “That’s what it was”, said McElwain, who only briefly discussed his team’s potential complacency and lack passion to play in the contest. “This is important to him”.

“I’m disappointed”, he said. And I’m just so thankful that we were able to do that as a team. We came out and played inspired football.

So, no the Gators are not going to come out in the wishbone and run the option. It’s rough picking a game to stay under 40 in college football, but these two offenses will be so over-matched by the defenses that there’s no way the over makes sense. That’s one thing I want everybody to kind of understand.

“It was a case of getting your rump kicked in”. “You turn on the film and it’s pretty simple”.

That space evaporated with the shortened field, however, as bending but not breaking is one of the strengths of Michigan’s defense. “I think we’ve talked about this all season, the game is defined by your front guys. It was really good”. “It really kind of works a little bit like that and yet it isn’t all him”. To be fair, Florida’s young offensive line didn’t help much.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s first season in Ann Arbor ended on a high note as the 14th-ranked Michigan Wolverines (10-3) notched a convincing 41-7 victory over the 19th-ranked Florida Gators (10-4) in the 2016 Citrus Bowl on Friday.

“It’s very important for us to go out on the right note”, sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor said. “We just felt we could potentially get them on a double move and our coaches said, ‘Yeah, it’s going to happen”, Rudock said. It’s big for us to go out on the winning note to send those seniors and juniors that are leaving early on a good note. UM ran the ball on 56.7 percent of plays, giving the offense a physical, “man ball” identity.