5 things to know about Michigan’s Peach Bowl opponent: Florida

Just a few weeks ago, Michigan’s postseason goal was to grab one of the four College Football Playoff spots. It didn’t happen after that awful 62-39 loss to arch-rival Ohio State, but at least a bid to a New Year’s Six bowl was granted on Sunday.

The 10-2 Wolverines, ranked No. 7 in the final Playoff poll, will take on the No. 10 Florida Gators from the SEC in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The game is on Saturday, Dec. 29 (Noon ET; TV: ESPN). The opening line has Michigan favored by 7.5-points. Florida is 9-3 and finished tied for second in the SEC East behind Georgia.

Here are five things to know about Florida headed into the Peach Bowl:

The Gators were surprisingly good in Dan Mullen’s first year

No one had Florida in the New Year’s Six conversation at the beginning of the year. Everyone was praising the hire of Dan Mullen as the Gators’ new coach, but they figured it would take him time to build a program that his slipped this decade under Will Muschamp and former Michigan assistant Jim McElwain. But Mullen, something of a quarterback whisperer, immediately transformed Florida from one of the worst offensive teams in the country to one that was better than average, putting up 426.7 yards per game. Mullen was the offensive coordinator at Florida back in Urban Meyer’s heyday at Florida in the 2000s, and he was part of two national championships. That’s Florida lofty again with Mullen in charge.

These two teams know each other pretty well

This will be the third matchup with the Gators since Jan. 1, 2016. They played in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando to conclude the 2015 season, with Michigan winning easily, 41-7. They then opened the 2017 season in Arlington, Texas, and the Wolverines won again, 33-17. Three times in less than three calendar years is far more often than Michigan sees all of its Big Ten West foes. On the flip side, though, there’s really not much to glean from those first two encounters. Dan Mullen’s spread offense is completely different from what was run the past few previous years.

The Gators win games with defense

The Florida defense is very good, led by defensive lineman Jachai Polite, who leads the team with 11 sacks, which is good for second in the SEC. Florida allows 175.1 passing yards per game and 169.9 rushing yards per game. They will bring plenty of pressure, so it’s going to be on Michigan’s offensive line to play well. The group stayed healthy all season and had a good year, outside of the Ohio State game when they really struggled. Florida has similar talent up front, so this will be a challenge.

Feleipe Franks might be most criticized QB in America

Florida was ranked No. 10 in the final Playoff poll rankings and there is no doubt that quarterback Feleipe Franks gets ripped more than any quarterback on any of those top-10 teams. While the other starters are beloved on their respective campuses, Gators fans have been trying to get rid of Franks for two years. Franks, who started — and lost — against Michigan in the opener last year, was much better this season under Mullen, throwing for 2,284 yards, 23 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Last year he had only 9 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions.

Running backs Perine and Scarlett form a scary duo

Mullen runs a spread offense, but if he has his druthers, he’d prefer to run the ball first. He’s got two really good running backs in Lamical Perine and Jordan Scarlett, who have combined to run for 1,467 yards and 10 touchdowns. They set the stage for Florida’s up-tempo offense, which includes a lot zone-reads. How effective is their running game? The Gators averaged 233 rushing yards per game in their nine wins and only 137 yards in their three losses to Kentucky, Georgia and Missouri.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.