Citrus Bowl Discussion
I figured it would be kinda cool to discuss the Citrus Bowl, anything about it is welcome. From 2001-2014 it was known as the Capital One Citrus Bowl. Capital One moved their Sponsorship to the Orange Bowl and BDubs came from what is now the Cactus Bowl.
Last year's Capital One Citrus Bowl matchup was #16 Mizzou vs #25 Minnesota where the Tigers beat the Golden Goofs 33 - 17. The MVP was Mizzou DE Marcus Golden. Both teams finished the 2015 season (5-7). Minnesota was invited to the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field. Mizzou was not invited to a bowl.
Michigan is tied 3rd all time with Tennessee, Auburn and Penn State for most appearances in the game. Georgia is tied with Florida for first with 6.
The last time Michigan played in the bowl game was 2007 in a 41-35 Victory over the Florida Gators.
Last time Michigan State played Alabama, Bama was #16 and MSU was #9. The Crimson Tide crushed Staee 49-7. This matchup was the 2010 Captial One Citrus Bowl.
I think our first appearance in this game was 1999 where we played Arkansas and won 45-31. (1998 season) Jon Jansen was the Captain of the team. Michigan finished 3rd in the conference at #12 behind the Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers in conference. Anthony Thomas was the Citrus Bowl MVP.
The game began in 1947 in front of 9,000 fans and is one of the oldest non CFP bowl games along with the Gator Bowl and Sun Bowl. The 1991 game was considered a National Championship victory for Georgia Tech.
The 1998 game had the largest crowd of 72,940 in a contest between Florida and Penn State.
In 1958 Buffalo refused to play in the bowl game because they wouldn't allow intergrated sporting events. Buffalo was not bowl eligible again for 50 years.
Due to construction in 1973, the game between Miami (OH) and Florida was moved to The Swamp under special permission from the NCAA and required special accommodations to be made. Near record low temps of 25 degrees occurred during this game, which nicknamed it the transplant bowl as the RedHawks found the cold to their liking in their 16-7 win. One of the Miami players was future Gators HC Ron Zook.
Also, Capital One held a mascot challenge from 2001-2014 where the winner was honored at half time. This has moved to the orange bowl this season.
Michigan takes on former Offensive Coordinator Doug Nussmeier, Go Blue!
December 10th, 2015 at 3:21 AM ^
Paragraphs are your friend
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December 10th, 2015 at 3:28 AM ^
I actually have them as paragraphs but for some reason when I post on my phone it never comes out that way.
EDIT: I jumped on my computer to edit it as I really figured it would be nice to discuss the bowl itself amongst the game talk.
December 10th, 2015 at 10:23 AM ^
You typed all that on your phone. Impressive!
December 10th, 2015 at 3:55 AM ^
So Buffalo refused because Buffalo didn't allow integration or because the Citrus Bowl didn't?
December 10th, 2015 at 4:07 AM ^
Well the citrus bowl is in the Deep South so I imagine it was them who had a problem with integration.
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December 10th, 2015 at 4:12 AM ^
Yes assume that and FU to those now hopefully dead pieces of shit.
December 10th, 2015 at 5:03 AM ^
Correct
December 10th, 2015 at 7:58 AM ^
Yes, all people who live in the "Deep South" are unimaginable racists and biggots. You cracked the code. Well done.
December 10th, 2015 at 9:12 AM ^
Considering it was 1958, why yes, yes indeed, I will assume that most people in the deep south were unimaginable racists and bigots. In fact I will also be willing to wager a good amount of people in the north were racists and bigots...
Did you read the post?
December 10th, 2015 at 10:36 AM ^
New York. Birmhingham. Which one of those cities makes you think of racist events mid-20th century first?
December 10th, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
Haven't you seen any Spike Lee movies? Clearly NY.
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December 10th, 2015 at 8:37 AM ^
Shouldn't we change the name now then?
December 10th, 2015 at 4:05 AM ^
Lots of M fans see an easy victory, but I think Florida has such a great defense that they will shut down our O as good or better than Ohio did. Also, while Treon Harris isn't the greatest passing QB, he is athletic and I expect their offense to run some midline read option, some veer, some power, and some traditional read option to try and exploit what Minny, IU, and OSU did against us.
We will not be able to run the ball whatsoever against this defense, so I hope Rudock is healthy and receives good pass protection.
10 wins is a damn solid season, and whether we get there or not will depend on how the linebacker group & DL plays for 60 minutes. UF is very likely going to be able to run up the middle regardless of scheme due to our injuries on the DL. If we want to win, we absolutely must put UF into 3rd and long situations. I would also like the defense to force a turnover or two.
All in all I think this will be a close, low scoring game won by whichever team makes fewest mistakes.
3 weeks ago I would've thought we would easily beat UF, now I'm. not so sure, and could even see us losing by a decent margin.
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December 10th, 2015 at 7:00 AM ^
FSU-UF game the other day. Their defense is terrifying. FSU eventually wore them down and scored two late TD's via the run but we simply don't have FSU's running game. Going to be tough to move the ball if Jake isn't given good protection.
Fwiw, their offense is just woof. I was reminded of Maryland.
December 10th, 2015 at 8:00 AM ^
Dalvin Cook is one of the best RB in the country. Michigan is going to need to pass the ball to win the game but Florida has good secondary with NFL players lining up in all positions.
It will be a defensive battle. Michigan offense is better than UF offense which will be the difference but Michigan cannot let Calloway get his yards in KR/PR.
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December 10th, 2015 at 8:26 AM ^
would not surprise me if they are significantly better offensively by the bowl game. They had a shake up midyear and had to change on the fly but a month to works things out can help quite a bit. Think of 07. Granted, we had more offensively talent that year then they do, but we were an absolute sludge-fart in The Game but looked like an angry death-viper in the Citrus. Urban Meyer was like "who the f are these guys?"
December 10th, 2015 at 9:26 AM ^
+1: Sludge-fart
December 10th, 2015 at 9:09 AM ^
Troll troll troll. You're getting pretty good at sounding like a Michigan fan though. Until the losing by a healthy margin part at the end. Why are you still here?
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December 10th, 2015 at 9:15 AM ^
did not appear to be an obvious troll job to me. Didn't look at his recent posts though.
December 10th, 2015 at 9:21 AM ^
Maybe he's not. Has been around since 2013. But his posts seem to make a lot of backhanded compliments to Michigan, and he will occasionally throw in crap about how we'll never compete with Sparty again, OSU owns us, etc. BAMF if you're not a troll I apologize. But I still kind of think you are.
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December 10th, 2015 at 9:50 AM ^
would appear to be a Bama troll if he is. Those are not very common. Most Bama fans don't feel the need as they are busy neck stomping whoever their next opponent may be.
December 10th, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^
with similar style avatars and usernames (all caps and numbers)
of these, BAMF is least likely to be a trolling account, although I too find his wording interesting at times.
December 10th, 2015 at 1:38 PM ^
Not a troll just a realist who is tired of the constant losing to our rivals. Apparently at this blog you need to a a homer void of the capability to criticize this team. I actually coach football and I just get so frustrated sometimes when the fan base just brushed a team like UF off. If Mi hogan loses, the same people that called for an easy win will be the first ones making 5,000 excuses.
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December 10th, 2015 at 10:27 AM ^
wasn't that bad while Rudock was in there. They just stalled in the red zone. Their drives with Rudock went:
10 plays 43 yds, punt from OSU 36
7 plays 28 yds, punt from UM 48
14 plays 72 yds, 25 yd FG
11 plays 92 yds, TD
6 plays 15 yds, punt from UM 41
7 plays 57 yds, 27 yd FG
Rudock left the game during UM's next possession.
I agree that Florida's defense is going to be a stiff test. The good news is Florida's offense so far this year isn't even close to OSU's.
December 10th, 2015 at 4:07 AM ^
Was so good in the 2007 game. Definitely the highlight of the game imo.
December 10th, 2015 at 4:14 AM ^
The last bowl game I attended and Arrington was outstanding.
December 10th, 2015 at 4:52 AM ^
The highlite of that game was watching a coach, who was notorious for super passive play calling, wait until the final game of his career. Then all of a sudden realize he had the athletes to destroy opposing defenses at will. I missed Carr on the sidelines during the bad years but I will never miss his "prevent offenses".
December 10th, 2015 at 6:01 AM ^
Lloyd Carr: Best coach in the country at taking 5 star talented teams and making them perform at 3 star levels.
December 10th, 2015 at 8:05 AM ^
That's Tom Izzo.
December 10th, 2015 at 9:15 AM ^
7 Final Fours is 3 star level to you?
Carr's first few years were fantastic/great until 2001 and then Tressel happened and well... modern football happened.
December 10th, 2015 at 6:49 AM ^
That game showed how disappointing the 07 team was. We had the talent to be a top 5 team but we either couldn't stop the spread (App St and Oregon) or our offense completely shut down and was predictable (OSU)
December 10th, 2015 at 7:41 AM ^
Hart and Henne were both badly injured in that game, but did their best to play as neither had a viable backup. Henny couldn't get the ball 15 yards downfield and Hart was not very mobile. As evidenced by the following year, the cupboard was bare.
December 10th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
I'd say Mallett was viable back to Henne for the OSU game. Mallett started a few games that year and had seen a decent amount of playing time due to Henne's injury.
December 17th, 2015 at 11:05 AM ^
- Kept fumbling snaps (one of which Mike Hart picked up and ran for a first down)
- Was frequently fighting with the receivers and coaches on the sideliens
- Didn't make any decent plays of note in the time he got
He was a freshman, so that stuff can be expected. But he would not have helped in the OSU game.
December 10th, 2015 at 8:01 AM ^
Michigan didn't really take Appalachian State seriously until after halftime. Apparently the coaches put out minimal gameplan against them, assuming that they would roll over against them just because they're in the FCS division.
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December 10th, 2015 at 9:19 AM ^
Could you imagine a Mike Leach kind of OC with access to the receivers Michigan had in the mid 00s....?
Talk about air raid offenses... shiet.
December 10th, 2015 at 5:05 AM ^
I was sad he couldn't catch on in the NFL. Got hurt with the Saints in training camp two years in a row
December 10th, 2015 at 10:22 AM ^
Arrington was good. Jamar Adams whipping Tim Tebow time and again was better
December 10th, 2015 at 12:15 PM ^
Had to watch that twice. Fantastic.
December 10th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
Thank you very much, may I have another (in 2016)?
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December 10th, 2015 at 5:12 AM ^
I think finishing with a win over a solid SEC opponent will really vault us into spring ball with positive momentum.
I like Jim Harbaugh to, with a month to prepare, have some nice wrinkles in the playbook. I think we will see Jabrill featured in a trick play. I really hope our guys show up and play with urgency. 9-4 certainly is not bad, but the momentum and positive attitude that surfaces from ending the season with a win could go a long way to how we come out as a team next year.
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December 10th, 2015 at 5:13 AM ^
TIL, some interesting info about the Citrus Bowl. Thank you OP.
December 10th, 2015 at 5:18 AM ^
Used Wikipedia as a source honestly, but tried to put it in my own words and save people some time and get some insight into it. I'll probably update it more as I see fit getting closer to the date.
December 10th, 2015 at 8:31 AM ^
My favorite trivia about the Citrus Bowl: Spurrier's line, "you can't spell Citrus without UT." (As a direct slam to the Tennessee program that consistently finished second to his UF teams)
December 10th, 2015 at 9:09 AM ^
I loved Spurrier as a head coach for his blistering quips as much as anything (although his Florida teams were really fun to watch, especially on offense). He really had a great sense of humor.
But I always wondered why, in 2011 (2010 season) and 2013 (2012 season) someone prominent out there wasn't observing that you also can't spell "Citrus" without "USC". It seemed like a high-hanging curve ball to me, but nobody was taking a swing.
/insert "that assumes someone affiliated with Tennessee can spell" joke here/
December 10th, 2015 at 5:28 AM ^
I pre ordered a couple ticks from the athletic department and wont be able to make it. Anyone interested in 2 at face in the Michigan section?
December 10th, 2015 at 7:02 AM ^
Yes. Email me at mumurthigal @ gmail
December 10th, 2015 at 7:33 AM ^
I am also in need of tickets. i can be reached at [email protected]
December 10th, 2015 at 8:59 AM ^
I don't have tickets to sell, but I will send you an email regarding a large sum of money, a Nigerian prince, and how you can be of help while earning a substantial percentage of that money.
December 10th, 2015 at 9:59 AM ^
Don't sell the tickets to ohio state fans!!
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