Breaking down the bowl: Gator Bowl
Written by Chris Schmidbauer | | sports@toledofreepress.comWe have reached the end of the regular season in college football, and the postseason is upon us. For collegiate football that means bowl games. Grant it there are plenty of teams (70 to be exact) that make it into a postseason bowl game, but three of our local teams made it into bowl games including Michigan.
Gator Bowl – Michigan vs. Mississippi State
1/1 – Everbank Stadium – Jacksonville, FL
Michigan (7-5) became bowl eligible after consecutive seasons of failing to qualify for postseason play in coach Rich Rodriguez’s first two seasons in Ann Arbor. Mississippi State comes in on the heels of an 8-4 season in coach Dan Mullen’s second season with the Bulldogs.
This game won’t really pique the interest of the national fan base, but locally the story lines that have dogged Michigan will once again play a major role in the lead up to this New Year’s Day game.
Is this Rich Rodriguez’s last game as head coach at Michigan? Will the Wolverines’ defense get better between now and the bowl game? Will Denard Robinson be able to regain his early season form?
It is ironic how Michigan centric the storylines are at this point, and that is a bonus for MSU.
The teams are pretty even on paper. Both teams had winning records at home and on the road. Neither team’s conference record was all the impressive, although the Bulldogs did almost beat the Auburn Tigers, who are playing for the national championship.
Both teams run the spread offense, but the Bulldogs favor a more power attack than a finesse game. Their rushing attack is led by junior Vick Ballard. Ballard ran for almost 900 yards and 16 TD this season.
The maize and blue’s defense has been awful almost the entire season, especially to round out the regular season. The Wolverines gave up 258 yards rushing to Ohio State and over 300 yards to Wisconsin in back to back games.
As always, Michigan will rely on its dynamic offense led by the aforementioned Denard Robinson. The Big Ten’s offensive player of the year will have to have a huge day in order for Michigan to win.
The early favorite for the game was Mississippi State by six points, and that might be accurate; but the Wolverines have so much more to play for this bowl season.
The fact that Michigan may be exploring a coaching change has been one of the worst kept secret in sports.
Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon has insisted he will not evaluate Rodriguez and his performance until after the bowl game, but only the naïve would believe that is true. Brandon and the Wolverine brass have been discussing a possible coaching change for months now, but it is possible they have not made up their mind.
After last week’s story of an emotional breakdown at the Michigan team banquet and vocal support from his players, Rodriguez does have his team’s backing even if not from the athletic office.
Most pundits think nothing short of an impressive win over the Bulldogs will save Rodriguez’s job, and despite whatever corny joke the Ohio State fan in me wants to throw out here, Michigan players can read and have seen the headlines and innuendo surrounding the fate of their coach.
If these players are being truthful and they want Rodriguez back as head coach, it will take a strong showing on their part in the Gator Bowl, and it makes this team’s bowl preparations even more important than ever.
Yes there has been improvement this season, but the status quo is not going to get it done just like it didn’t against Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.
If this team wants Rodriguez to stay a “Michigan man”, it will largely rest on their shoulders.
Prediction: Michigan 45 MSU 38
Chris Schmidbauer is sports editor for Toledo Free Press and Toledo Free Press Star. Contact him at cschmidbauer@toledofreepress.com. He is also the co-host of the “Odd Couple Sports Show” on Fox Sports Radio 1230 WCWA and can be heard every weekday from at 10 a.m. to noon. He can also be seen weekly on the “Friday Night Frenzy Tailgate Show” on NBC 24’s America One.
Michigan scoring 45 points on miss. state defense??? i dont know if you watch SEC football alot up there but there is no way they are going to score 45 points.. that score sounds like you think very little about the defense that held auburn to 17 points.. florida to just 10.. kentucky’s dynamic offense to 17 points.. granted michigan’s offense is extremely dangerous but 45 points?? now sayin they score in the mid 30′s i can see that but i’ll say state wins 31-27.. SEC defense different than other conference’s!!! jus ask ohio state!!!!
This comment was posted on December 26th, 2010 at 2:07 pmThats what they said when we smashed florida’s sec defense!!!! GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
This comment was posted on December 26th, 2010 at 6:03 pmyeah, i have to agree with barrett. robinson is an AWESOME player. he is truly really talented. i just don’t see how michigan can score 45 on an SEC defense. and i have to disagree with your statement that State’s record wasn’t that impressive. true, we did lose four games, but all four teams were top 10 teams at one point (two were #1 at their place). we almost beat auburn and took arkansas to double OT. it’s alright though. local paper has to back up the local teams. good luck against manny diaz’s defense. it’s gonna hurt.
This comment was posted on December 26th, 2010 at 8:41 pmBig Blue is going to explode on ur so called Defence down there in good ol mississippi patna! Even tho its been a few years since michigan was in a bowl, i believe the last time we came to florida to play we “didn’t have a chance”.. And ended up THOROUGHLY handling the gators and the all mighty Tebow.. The score doesn’t clearly reflect that, but if u watched the whole game level headed u saw what i did.. We should’ve put 60 on u little guys down there in the south! Denards going to put 30 on u mississippi boi’s by his self… I say we put 55 on ur continuously overated defence in the sec!! U little guys w all that heart r going to get beat bad by a average big ten team… just be thankful richrod hasn’t hit his stride yet.. Sincerly, MIIIIIICHIGAN!
This comment was posted on December 26th, 2010 at 10:31 pmI don’t think you watched the Big Ten this year. Hands down Denard Robinson is the best quarterback in the country. Michigan just does not have the defense yet but we will be back. Mark my words Denard Robinson will have a memorable performance(MVP)in front of his home state crowd and all the critics will leave Rich Rod alone. GO Maize n’ Blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This comment was posted on December 26th, 2010 at 10:34 pmSEC? Defense? Please.
Holding florida’s pathetic offense to 10 isn’t an accomplishment. Did you really call Kentucky’s offense “dynamic”?
And you’re right, in the SEC defense is difference than the Big Ten. The Big Ten actually knows what it is. Lol “just ask ohio state”… 2 years ago.
Michigan owns the SEC.
This comment was posted on December 26th, 2010 at 11:39 pmMichigan will prove in 2012 that the Big Ten is better than the SEC when they beat Alabama at Cowboy Stadium week one on national television.
Denards senior year and Jim Harbaugh’s second season as michigans head coach, their first legitimate shot at a Big Ten title. Write it down because I said it first.
Michigan will “Roll the Tide Over”
This comment was posted on December 27th, 2010 at 12:39 amBarrett have you seen Big Ten football? The games Michigan has won have been a shootout. They put up 67 against a bowl bound Illinois team. Also they have only gone for less than 30 points in three games this season, two of which being to the top two teams in the Big Ten arguably.
This comment was posted on December 27th, 2010 at 12:47 amIt’s great to read the comments of both sides. I am a State fan, and I have the greatest respect for Michigan. They have to be one of the top programs of all times. What I would like to share is that Ms State has a class organization too. They play the game the way it should be played, and I think Michigan will show up. It should be a great game. It’s unfortunate that the school is having to endure this coaching situation. Sometimes a coach needs time to fix things. I thought Lloyd Carr was a great coach, and at the end of the day , after all the whoopla, may have misspelled it, what we all remember of these games are the players and coaches. Good luck to Michigan, but go Bulldogs!
This comment was posted on December 27th, 2010 at 12:34 pmMississippi State has a tremendous defense and an above average offense led by the rush, but they will be contending with a Michigan football team that will be playing harder than ever. The Michigan offense is extremely explosive; especially when Robinson is throwing well. I think the Michigan defense could be the deciding factor in the ball game. If the Wolverines can play one full game of solid defense, and their offense stays consistent, it could be a long day for Dan Mullin’s Bulldogs’, but that is a big if. If I were to make a prediction, it would be Michigan 35 Miss. St. 31
This comment was posted on December 27th, 2010 at 4:30 pmSome quotes last time michigan played an sec team: (Florida) “The SEC is too fast” “There is no chance for Michigan” “the Big ten is too slow” “SEC is a better conference than the big ten” Michigan beat Florida by 7 and it shouldve been by 21. (Mike hart fumbled on the goaline twice) Michigan absolutely man handled and beat up a “Superior SEC Offense”. Michigan’s record vs SEC: 23-5 Bowl games vs sec: 7-3
This comment was posted on December 27th, 2010 at 5:37 pmDecide for yourself….
Sec is not as good as advertised, Big 10 is the best football conference in America.
Now for My X’s and O’s prediction.
This comment was posted on December 27th, 2010 at 6:05 pmMichigan will be fully healthy for the second time this year. First time was against UCONN and they absolutely dominated them. Michigan held them to ten points and UCONN is a heavy running team like Miss st. (although they are different types of running teams, spread and pro, they are both running teams none the less) UCONN is now playing in a BCS bowl. although it is a fluke they are there because of the weak conference strength of the big east they are still in a bcs bowl. Michigan’s Defense shutdown Jordan Toddman who is an absolute stud and was a finalist for the Doak Walker award. When Mike martin, jonas mouton, and Jt Floyd are healthy this defense is much better, not good, but better. Just good enough to let Michigan’s offense get the win. Also, I do not think D Rob will be able to be contained by Mississippi state. He is finally healthy from his nagging shoulder, knee, and hip injuries. Now that he is at 100% he will be able to get much more zip on the ball and he will be more accurate. This is a huge key to the game; Denard’s ability to throw. Shoelace is obviously the key to the michigan offense and when he is clicking i dont know if anyone in the country can completely stop michigan’s offense.
Final Score Prediction: 35-24 Michigan (notice no field goals for michigan)
Those Gator Bowl predictions from Wolverine fans are making me laugh so hard, I’m ready to fall off my chair. Get a reality check now! Your team sucks. Robinson is not a good QB; he’s average against good teams like Mississippi State. He’s lousy against great teams like Ohio State. Your team is one big mess.
This comment was posted on January 7th, 2011 at 12:07 pm