Michigan
Alabama
Michigan Monday: Game 13 vs. Alabama (Vrbo Citrus Bowl)
12/23/2019 4:45:00 PM | Football
#17 Michigan (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) vs. #9 Alabama (10-2, 6-2 SEC)
Camping World Stadium • Orlando, Fla.
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2020 • 1:07 p.m. EST
Television: ABC
Radio: Michigan/IMG Sports Network
Monday, Dec. 23
Complete Game Notes (PDF)
Season in Review (PDF) | Bowl History (PDF)
Inside Michigan Football Radio Show (7 p.m.) | Listen
• Michigan is making its sixth Citrus Bowl appearance (4-1 record).
• The Wolverines have 11 players that hail from the state of Florida.
• Captain Ben Bredeson earned All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (second team) and the Associated Press (third team).
• U-M is seeking 10 wins for the fourth time in five seasons under Jim Harbaugh, something that has not been achieved by the program since 1980.
• Shea Patterson was named the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player of the 2019 team.
Wolverines and Crimson Tide
• This will be the fifth overall meeting between Michigan and Alabama, with the series tied at two wins apiece.
• This will be the fourth meeting between the programs during the bowl season, with the Wolverines holding a 2-1 advantage. Michigan claimed victories in the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl (28-24) and 2000 Orange Bowl (35-34 OT), while Alabama won a 17-14 affair in the 1997 Outback Bowl.
• The only regular-season match-up between the two programs came in the 2012 season opener at Cowboys Stadium, a 41-14 victory for Alabama in the Cowboys Classic.
Series vs. Alabama: Series tied 2-2
Series Streak: Alabama won 1
Last Meeting: 2012 (Alabama, 41-14)
Last Michigan Win: 2000 (35-34 OT)
Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl
• This will be the sixth time that Michigan plays in the Citrus Bowl. U-M has compiled a 4-1 record in its five prior appearances in the Orlando bowl game.
• The Wolverines won their first two appearances in the bowl sponsored by Florida Citrus Sports, defeating Arkansas (45-31) in the 1999 game and Auburn (31-28) in the 2001 contest. The Wolverines suffered their only setback, 45-17, to Tennessee in the 2002 game.
• In 2008, when the game was known as the Capital One Bowl, U-M returned to its winning ways as it claimed a 41-35 victory over Florida in Lloyd Carr's final game as head coach.
• The program's last appearance in the Citrus Bowl came in the 2016 game, a 41-7 win over Florida in Jim Harbaugh's first bowl game as Michigan head coach.
• Among the FBS leaders, the Wolverines list 11th in bowl game appearances (48 including this year) and 17th in bowl victories (21). U-M has played in 12 different bowl games during its history.
• This will be the 16th time that Michigan faces a Southeastern Conference school in a bowl game (8-7 record).
Television Coverage
ABC will broadcast the game to a national audience. Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (color) and Tom Luginbill (sideline) will call the game.
In the Polls
• Michigan enters the bowl season ranked in the top 20 of the polls for the 17th consecutive poll this season, listing No. 17 in the Associated Press rankings and No. 17 in the Amway Coaches Poll. Michigan finished 14th in the final College Football Playoff rankings.
• The Wolverines have been ranked in the national polls for 27 straight games dating back to the start of the 2018 season.
• Michigan has faced five ranked opponents this season -- No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 14 Iowa, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Notre Dame and No. 2 Ohio State -- with No. 9 Alabama on the schedule in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl Bowl.
• The Wolverines have a 2-3 record against ranked teams in 2019.
• U-M has been ranked for all but eight contests during coach Jim Harbaugh's tenure (65 games). The Wolverines were not ranked the first four games in 2015 and four games in 2017.
Game Notes Nuggets
• U-M has 11 players on the roster from the state of Florida, and eight of those 11 have seen action during the 2019 season. The list includes senior starters TE Nick Eubanks (Plantation), DB Josh Metellus (Pembroke Pines) and LB Josh Uche (Miami) as well as TE Ramsey Baty (Fort Lauderdale), DB Sammy Faustin (Naples), LB Devin Gil (Pembroke Pines), WR George Johnson (Stuart), QB Joe Milton (Pahokee), DL Mike Morris (Belle Glade), LB Anthony Solomon (Fort Lauderdale) and DL Taylor Upshaw (Bradenton).
• Eight of the Wolverines' 12 regular-season opponents are heading into postseason bowl action this season: Ohio State (College Football Playoff, Fiesta), Penn State (Cotton), Wisconsin (Rose), Iowa (Holiday), Indiana (Gator), Illinois (Redbox), Michigan State (Pinstripe) and Notre Dame (Camping World). The Big Ten Conference is sending nine teams into bowl competition this year.
• The Wolverines are facing the ninth toughest schedule in the NCAA this season. Michigan's opponents have combined for a 83-51 record (.619) entering the bowl season.
• The Wolverines enter the Citrus Bowl looking to capture 10 wins in a season for the 29th time in school history. The fifth-year seniors on the 2019 roster have a chance to become the fifth group of graduates to collect 10-win seasons in four of their five seasons. The most recent group to accomplish this feat was Bo Schembechler's 1980 team, which collected 10-win campaigns in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1980.
• The Wolverines' passing game has generated 1,055 yards and 10 TDs the past three games. U-M threw for over 300 yards three straight games, gaining a season-high 384 passing yards against Michigan State, 366 yards at Indiana and 305 vs. Ohio State.
• Michigan needs 175 yards in the Citrus Bowl to reach 5,000 for the fifth straight season under head coach Jim Harbaugh. The offense has produced 400 yards of total offense in seven games, including five of the last seven. With 4,825 yards on 825 offensive plays, the Wolverines are averaging 402.1 yards per game and 5.8 yards per play.
• The 2019 Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player as voted by his teammates, quarterback Shea Patterson needs three passing scores to equal the U-M season record of 25 set by Elvis Grbac (1991) and Chad Henne (2004). He is also 172 passing yards shy of becoming the third quarterback in school history to pass for 3,000 yards in a season, joining John Navarre (3,331 yards in 2003) and Jake Rudock (3,017 in 2015).
.@SheaPatterson_1 was named MVP (voted on by his teammates) at our 2019 Awards Show (The SCHEMMYS this evening.
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 16, 2019
FULL DETAILS » https://t.co/ZkSTaqzmtf#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/RDZYlprUfE
• Michigan's receiver corps has four players with 25 or more receptions, and seven receivers have scored touchdowns in 2019: Nico Collins (7), Donovan Peoples-Jones (6), Ronnie Bell (1), Tarik Black (1), Mike Sainristil (1), Giles Jackson (1) and Cornelius Johnson (1).
• All-American Ben Bredeson leads an offensive line that ranks second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in fewest tackles for loss allowed (4.75 avg.). Bredeson earned All-America honors from the Walter Camp Football Foundation (second team) and Associated Press (third team). The Wolverines have started the same offensive line the past 10 games, and four offensive linemen have started every game this fall: Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz, Michael Onwenu and Jalen Mayfield.
• The Wolverines' defense has allowed just 150 points in the last 37 quarters (4.05 points per quarter), including a 10-quarter stretch with no TDs allowed (does not include Maryland's kickoff return TD). During an eight-game stretch from the Rutgers through Indiana games, Michigan yielded only 13 touchdowns while forcing 14 turnovers.
• The Maize and Blue ranks among the top 30 nationally in 11 defensive categories, including total defense (sixth) and pass defense (fifth). The defense has forced a turnover or punt on 68.6 percent of opponent drives, the seventh highest percentage in the country.
• Only four teams have reached 300 yards of offense against the Wolverines this season. U-M has limited eight opponents to less than 285 offensive yards: Army (243), Rutgers (152), Iowa (261), Illinois (256), Penn State (283), Notre Dame (180), Maryland (233) and Michigan State (220).
• U-M is giving up 3.03 yards per rush attempt, the lowest yards per rush since 2006. The Wolverines have allowed less than 70 rushing yards to the opposition six times, which is tied for third among Power 5 teams (Utah leads with nine).
• The Wolverines have generated 74 tackles for loss and 36 sacks this season. The team's average of 3.0 sacks per contest lists fourth in the Big Ten and 14th in the NCAA. Team TFL leaders are Kwity Paye (12.5), Josh Uche (11.5), Cameron McGrone (9), Aidan Hutchinson (8.5) and Jordan Glasgow (6).
• Michigan lists fifth in the Big Ten and 28th nationally with 20 total turnovers gained. The Wolverines' defense has forced 17 turnovers this fall (nine interceptions and eight fumbles), and three additional fumbles have been generated on special teams.
