This year, Texas football will spend New Year’s Eve in Orlando with the Michigan Wolverines.
Texas and Michigan will square off in the Citrus Bowlon Dec. 31 at Camping World Stadium. Just two years ago, the Longhorns and Wolverines each qualified for what was then a four-team College Football Playoff, which the Wolverines won. This season, though, UT and UM both went 9-3 and weren’t included in the 12-team CFP field. Texas was listed 13th in the final CFP rankings. Michigan was 18th.
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Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Michigan State Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in East Lansing, Mich.
Ryan Sun/Associated Press
Having debuted in 1947 as the Tangerine Bowl, the Citrus Bowl is one of college football’s oldest bowl games. Michigan, which will be making its seventh trip to Orlando since the start of the 1998 season, is a Citrus Bowl regular at this point. Texas, on the other hand, is about to check this postseason event off its bowl game bingo card.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood runs in a touchdown against Nebraska on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Rebecca S. Gratz/Associated Press
Michigan acting head coach Biff Poggi watches as his team plays against Nebraska during the first half Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb.
Rebecca S. Gratz/Associated Press
Here are five things to know about the Wolverines:
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1. Michigan unexpectedly joined college football’s coaching carousel this month
Michigan is among the 32 Football Bowl Subdivision-level schools that will enter next season with a different coach than it had at the beginning of this season. The coaching change that Michigan made Dec. 10, though, had little to do with wins and losses.
Three days after Michigan accepted its invitation to the Citrus Bowl, Sherrone Moore was fired after the school determined that its head coach had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Moore was later arrested and charged with several crimes after he allegedly broke into that staff member’s home and threatened to harm himself.
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Biff Poggi, who led the Wolverines to wins over Central Michigan and Nebraska while Moore was serving an unrelated suspension earlier this season, will be Michigan’s interim coach for the Citrus Bowl. Poggi went 6-16 as Charlotte’s head coach from 2023-24.
Maryland quarterback Malik Washington (7) is sacked by Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore, center, during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in College Park, Md.
Stephanie Scarbrough/Associated Press
2. Texas will face another 5-star quarterback in the Citrus Bowl
Michigan boasts a rushing attack that features all-conference honorees Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall and is averaging the 15th-most yards on the FBS level, but the biggest name on the offense belongs to freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. The top-rated recruit in the 2025 class, he has thrown for 2,229 yards, nine touchdowns and six interceptions in his debut season. He also has rushed for five touchdowns while averaging 4.4 yards per carry.
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3. Michigan’s defense will be missing its top pass rusher
Michigan edge rusher Derrick Moore declared for the NFL draft over the weekend. According to a CBS Sports report, he’ll opt out of the Citrus Bowl. Moore ranks 14th nationally with 10 sacks. He also contributed to a Michigan run defense that’s allowing the 14th-fewest yards at 101.7 per game.
4. Michigan struggled this season against CFP contenders
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Michigan was actually slotted one spot higher than Texas in the CFP rankings. The Wolverines then dropped a 27-9 game to then-No. 1 Ohio State and stumbled out of the playoff conversation.
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Two of Michigan’s losses were to Ohio State and Oklahoma teams that qualified for the playoff. The Wolverines also were beaten by USC, which was ranked 16th in the final CFP rankings. Michigan failed to score 14 points in each of its losses.
Texas senior kicker Dusty Mangum acknowledges the fans as he leaves the field following his last-second heroics in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2005 in Pasadena, Calif.
Ralph Barrera/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
5. How often has Texas played Michigan?
This will be the third meeting between Michigan and Texas, which respectively rank first and fifth among college football teams in all-time wins. Having beaten Michigan with a walk-off field goal at the 2005 Rose Bowl and then recorded a 31-12 win in Ann Arbor last year, Texas owns a 2-0 lead in this series.
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Michigan is scheduled to visit Austin on Sept. 11, 2027.