College Football

Michigan Football vs Florida State: 5 Reasons to Care About the Orange Bowl

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 1:18 a.m. ET

Fansided, Chris Peterson/FanSided via GBMWolverine

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The Orange may not be the game Michigan football wanted to be in, but there are plenty of reasons to be excited about it. Here are five of them.

The worst thing about bowl season in college football is the wait. After the loss to Ohio State, Michigan football has had to wait long enough to play again. But Friday, the wait, will finally be over.

Friday, Michigan football, the sixth-ranked team in the country according to the AP and College Football Playoff committee, will take on Florida State, No. 11.

It’s the first major bowl berth for the Wolverines since 2011. It’s also a chance for UM to beat a top-notch program, one that won a national championship and was in the playoff just two years ago.

It seems that games like the Orange Bowl are losing significance in the playoff era, during years in which they don’t host playoff games.

But in reality, making the Orange Bowl or any New Year’s Six bowl is a big deal. There are only 12 teams that make it into those games and at the end of the season, only six teams can claim to have won one.

It’s the next best thing to a winning a conference championship and with an 11-win season on the line, Michigan football should have plenty of motivation.

So even though it may not have been the dream destination at the start of the season, there are still plenty of reasons for Michigan football and its fans to care about the Orange Bowl and here are five of them.

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A win helps everyone get over Ohio State

Some people think bowl games don’t matter, but I am not one of them. They matter and depending on the situation, they can matter a lot.

In the grand scheme of things, a win or loss may not matter much to Michigan football. But my guess is, this team cares a great deal about winning this game.

The Wolverines ended the season losing two of three. They also lost both on the last play of the game and the one to Ohio State was particularly painful. Certainly, they will want to end the season on a high note and a win over Florida State would achieve that.

With SIX DAYS until the @OrangeBowl, check out our Bowl Central! #GoBlue » https://t.co/aPeZJTy1fW pic.twitter.com/oDMexTyX9V

— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 24, 2016

Michigan has a chance to earn its first finish in the top 5 of the final AP poll for the first time since 1999, the last time UM won the Orange Bowl. Tom Brady was the quarterback then.

Yea, that’s how long it’s been since Michigan has finished as a top-5 team.

Winning the Orange Bowl not only gets Michigan its 11th win, which signals its own success, but it also probably gets UM in the top 5.

But most importantly, it will help wash away the bad taste leftover from the loss to Ohio State.

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One last chance to see some in the winged helmet

This is a pretty basic reason to watch a bowl game, but it’s one thing I am looking forward to, well at least something I don’t want to miss.

I wish Jabrill Peppers, Jake Butt, Ryan Glasgow, Jourdan Lewis and many others had a lot more games at Michigan. But sadly they don’t and this is our last chance to see them in a Wolverines uniform.

Sending these guys out with a victory and an 11-win season is important. Thy haveeeee done a lot for the program, but in terms of significant achievements, they don’t have many.

Back-to-back 10-win seasons is impressive, but going 11-2 and walking away with an Orange Bowl trophy would be saying something.

It’s not a perfect ending, but it’s far better than the alternative.

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To beat a college football power, you need to beat teams like Florida State

Florida State isn’t the team that it was a couple years ago, but the Seminoles are still a big-time program.

The Orange Bowl will be FSU’s fifth-consecutive trip to a major bowl game. This is the first for Michigan football in that same time period.

Throughout the first two years of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure, Michigan has some big wins. But the Wolverines still lack wins over legitimate powerhouses. Wisconsin and the like don’t necessarily count to me.

Florida State may have went 9-3, but they hung with Clemson and have enough talent to play with pretty much anyone.

It will be a great test for Michigan and it will be a chance for the Wolverines to show everyone, that they are ready to be be on the big stage.

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A win helps the Big Ten

As I said earlier, Bowl games matter to me, especially games like the Orange Bowl. And one of the biggest reasons why is conference reputation.

It sounds silly, but at the end of the day, it’s important and it’s affected by head-to-head performance.

All season long, the Big Ten was viewed as the best conference. Four teams were consistently in the top 10 and three finished in the top six. Now it’s time for the league to back it up and Michigan can help in that process by beating Florida State.

A convincing win would not only allow Michigan to argue it deserved to be in the playoff, it can also add to a good year for the Big Ten, which has seen its reputation improve steadily in the past few years.

College football is somewhat complicated, but there is no doubt, bowl victories make a difference in both perception and reality. Fair or not.

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The 2017 seasons starts Friday

One thing I believe about bowl games, is that the outcome is often determined by attitude. Teams that don’t care about playing in bowls, generally lose them.

With Harbaugh, it’s hard to see Michigan having that problem. There is no doubt he will want to get a jump on 2017 and the momentum from an Orange Bowl win will definitely help.

It’s a farewell for some, but for others, like Wilton Speight, it’s a jumping off point. It’s a chance to show what he’s capable of.

It’s not like a loss will do great damage to Michigan going forward and in truth, a win doesn’t necessarily guarantee much either. But it will be great for recruiting and a decisive win will only help build Michigan’s brand.

Beating Florida in a dominant fashion, helped boost the team heading into 2016 and a win over Florida State could have a similar affect in 2017.

Momentum means something in college football and Michigan football can get it back with a win.