Peach Bowl: What To Know

Peach Bowl

Michigan (10-2) vs Florida (9-3)

Date/Time: Saturday, December 29th at 11 AM CT

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA

Bowl history

Originated: 1968

Conference tie-ins: At-large/Group of Five

Last year’s result: Central Florida defeated Auburn 34-27

Michigan bowl history

Michigan is just 21-25 all-time in their bowl history, including a 26-19 loss to South Carolina in last year’s Outback Bowl.

The Wolverines are appearing in their first Peach Bowl.

Since 2002, Michigan is only 4-10 in bowl games with three of those four wins coming against Florida.

Florida bowl history

The Gators are 22-21 in their bowl history including a 30-3 win over Iowa in the 2016 Outback Bowl. They missed out on a bowl game last season.

Florida is appearing in their third Peach Bowl. They lost to West Virginia in 1981 while also losing to Miami (FL) in 2004.

Since 2000, the Gators are 9-7 in bowl games. Three of those seven losses are to Michigan.

Series history

The Peach Bowl will be the fifth meeting between the two. Michigan leads the series 4-0 all-time against Florida. All four prior meetings have taken place since 2003, three of which were in bowl games. They met last year to open the season in Arlington, TX as well.

Key player to watch for each team

Michigan: Defensive End – Chase Winovich

Florida: Linebacker – Vosean Joseph

Game Notes:

Michigan

The calling card for Michigan all season (minus the Ohio State game) has been the defense. In fact, they are the number one ranked defense in the entire country in terms of yard allowed per game. They slipped to 12th in scoring defense, however. Also, bad news for the Wolverines is two of their stars, defensive end Rashan Gary along with linebacker Devin Bush are both sitting out the Peach Bowl. Still, this is a nasty defense packed with top-notch players who will make it hard on the Gator offense.

Shea Patterson leads the 43rd ranked offense into this game. Unfortunately, star running back Karan Higdon is also sitting out this game, meaning that Chris Evans will shoulder the load in the running game. The offense will need big plays from Nico Collins and/or Donovan Peoples-Jones in order to make an impact against the Gators defense.

Florida

Surprisingly, Florida has the 45th ranked offense in the nation due in large part to a solid running game. For the Gators, the defense is also the strong side of the team. They rank 27th overall in the nation because of their passing defense. The rushing defense only ranks 73rd, which will give Michigan’s Chris Evans hope. Additionally, Florida is top-ten in turnover margin this season, gaining 24 on defense while only giving up 14. Another solid note for the Gators is the offensive line has performed well, only giving up 1.25 sacks per game.

Final analysis

How Michigan deals with the loss of Karan Higdon and how effective Chris Evans is will determine much of how this game will go. Both teams are strong on defense, especially Michigan. The Wolverines have the edge based on that fact but again with Gary and Bush out, the defense is hugely impacted. In order for Florida to win the game, it’s simple. Get the rushing game going, make a couple of plays on defense. Additionally, Feleipe Franks will need to step up big time at quarterback. The Peach Bowl should be another classic between two powerhouse programs.

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– David Creekmur covers College Football/Basketball, WNBA and College Women’s Sports for Full Press Coverage. Like and follow on Twitter Follow @dmcreek Follow @FPC_College