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

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.