(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
New Year’s Day has always been the day for the biggest college football games and while this year will feature its share of great games, it is overshadowed by the playoff semifinals on New Year’s Eve. One game on January 1 that should spark the appetite of fans however is the Citrus Bowl at the Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando as the 9-3 Michigan Wolverines face the 10-3 Florida Gators. The two teams are about as well-matched as any two teams this bowl season.
Michigan comes in after a 42-13 loss to Ohio State to finish the regular season while averaging 30.6 points and 387 yards a game on offense. Jake Rudock has passed for 2,739 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season and likes looking deep for Amara Darboh. Darboh has 56 catches for 703 yards and five touchdowns. De’Veon Smith has been effective running the ball with 644 rushing yards and six touchdowns. The Wolverines have a chip on their shoulder after the way they lost to Ohio State and have something to prove in this game.
Florida lost their final two games of the season including the SEC Championship to Alabama and average 24.5 points and 338.7 yards a game on offense. Treon Harris has 1,530 passing yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions for the season. Antonio Callaway is the leading receiver yardage-wise with 603 receiving yards on 30 catches with four touchdowns. Kelvin Taylor will likely go over the 1,000-yard mark in this game as he comes in with 985 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. The two defenses give up less than 300 yards a game. This has the potential of being very low-scoring and physical to say the least.
What time is the Citrus Bowl?
The Citrus Bowl will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern.
What date and channel will the Citrus Bowl be on?
The Citrus Bowl will be played on Friday, January 1 and can be seen on ABC.
