We’re a week away from the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines taking on the No. 13 Texas Longhorns in the Citrus Bowl. Earlier this week, Maize n Brew’s Grace Foulk wrote about five reasons Michigan would come
out victorious. Today, I’ll play devil’s advocate and be on the pessimistic side. Here are five reasons Texas will win.
The chaos
Since the Wolverines lost to Ohio State last month, there has been nothing but chaos surrounding this program. Sherrone Moore’s firing and the subsequent debauchery and dysfunction that has come to light has been taxing for this team. All anyone surrounding the program has been asked about the last few weeks is either Moore, the state of the program or who the next head coach will be. Leading into a game like this one, the off-field chatter could be a detriment, particularly because of the youth that is at the core of the team.
Lack of attention
That leads to my second reason — a lack of attention on this game. That’s across the board, as coaches are looking for new jobs (see Chip Lindsey already leaving for Missouri), and players could be looking to the portal for their next landing spot. How much is this team really focused on playing a largely meaningless game against a really good Texas team? Especially with little culture and no real leadership at the helm. And that’s not a shot at interim head coach Biff Poggi, who was very candid in his press conference this week. It’s a testament to the nature of the beast for every individual attached to this program…what happens next?
Opt outs
In times like this, you hope the locker room solidifies and rallies both on and off the field. The problem is that three of the Wolverines’ most important pieces have already hung up their winged helmets. Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham and Giovanni El-Hadi, all seniors, will be out for this game. How many others, including those suspected to enter the portal, could be added to the list? Without key pieces on both fronts, Texas could dominate the line of scrimmage just like in 2024 in the Big House.
Texas QB Arch Manning
Grace listed Arch Manning as a reason Texas could lose this game due to his seven interceptions and struggles under pressure. The problem is Michigan will be without its two best pass rushers and Manning turned a corner in the second half of the season. He had 17 total touchdowns to just two interceptions while completing 62.1 percent of his passes in the final seven games. That was against some really good teams like Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas A&M.
Manning has shaken off those first-time starter woes he had in the early season, and there’s nothing that would build more juice heading into the offseason than a dominant game against Michigan.
Texas HC Steve Sarkisian
Despite the Longhorns expecting to be down 20 scholarship players, they have the far superior head coach. Steve Sarkisian has 148 games of major collegiate head coaching experience under his belt and took the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff the last two seasons. He is at the peak of his coaching career with a team that actually is still really well put together despite the opt outs.
Meanwhile, Biff Poggi is dealing with much more on his end and failed as the head coach at Charlotte already. While he did serve as the interim during Moore’s suspension against Nebraska and Central Michigan earlier this season, Sark will be by far the best coach Poggi has gone against head-to-head, and this will be the best team he’s faced by a wide margin. Advantage: Texas in the coaching department, and likely in every phase of this game.
