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

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.