Biff Poggi explains Michigan's 'real win' at the Citrus Bowl

It's hard to believe, but Michigan football has a bowl game to play on Wednesday.

The focus has been on the hiring of new head coach Kyle Whittingham, who was in Florida, and held his introductory press conference there on Sunday.

There still is a game to play, though, as Michigan and Texas will do battle in a matchup of top-25 teams, even if they won't be at full strength. Texas is dealing with some opt-outs, while Michigan has three players who have opted out. Bigg Poggi, the interim head coach, said there would be about 12-15 players out for the game, with injuries considered, as some others won't play.

What a Citrus Bowl win would mean for Michigan football

Poggi said this at the final Citrus Bowl press conference. He was also asked what a win on Wednesday would mean. He said it would be the "icing on the cake" but that Michigan football has already experienced a real win.

"A win would be icing on the cake," Poggi said via Clayton Sayfie of The Wolverine. "But the real win for us has been the way these kids have handled adversity and the way they’ve come to practice every day, the way they’ve just had to isolate themselves from an onslaught of outside noise. We’re coming to win, but we feel like we’ve got a lot of good things have happened these last three weeks at the University of Michigan, and it’s because of the players. A win would be great."

The quote that stood out to me, "a lot of good things have happened," was encouraging. We have heard about how this team and these players have stuck together. We'll see how they play on Wednesday as they try to put their best foot forward agianst a playoff-caliber team.

A win would be great. But the way the players kept this program together, as Poggi said, is a win by itself.