Orange Bowl: Gameday Primer

A top 10 finish and a fifth straight 10-win season are on the line for 11th-ranked Florida State as the 9-3 Seminoles take on No. 6 Michigan in the Capital One Bowl in Miami. The Wolverines come in 10-2 with the two losses coming by just a combined four points and each on the final play of the game. Michigan is in a major bowl for the first time in five years. The contest starts at 8 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN.

On offense, the Wolverines have a lot of players who touch the ball and a pretty good offensive line to protect quarterback Wilton Speight and open up holes for running back De’Veon Smith. John Mackey Award winner Jake Butt is as good as they come at tight end and stands to be a thorn in the side of an FSU defense that has struggled to cover elite tight ends this year. The strength of Michigan however, is the defense. Led by Taco Charlton, the Wolverines are deep up front and at linebacker, Jabrill Peppers headlines a very good unit. Despite having a Heisman Trophy finalist at linebacker in Peppers, the secondary, headlined by cornerback Jourdan Lewis, may be the best contingent for Michigan.

Defensively, the Seminoles are led by end DeMarcus Walker who headlines a unit that tops the country in sacks. At cornerback, senior Marquez White and Tarvarus McFadden, the nation’s leader in interceptions, are both very good. Dalvin Cook, a junior running back from Miami, is the heart and soul of the FSU offense. Cook needs just 72 yards to break the single-season FSU rushing record, which he holds. Deondre Francois, a redshirt freshman quarterback, will be making his first bowl start. The ACC’s Rookie of the Year passed for more than 3,100 yards with 22 total touchdowns and just six interceptions.

Quick Hits

• Florida State looks to avoid losing bowls in three straight seasons for the first time ever. FSU fell to Oregon in the Rose Bowl to conclude the 2014 season and to Houston in the Peach Bowl last year.
• FSU has played in the Orange Bowl more often than any other bowl. The Seminoles are 4-5 all-time in the game, but 1-0 under head coach Jimbo Fisher, beating Northern Illinois 31-10 to conclude the 2012 season. Three of the five losses came to Oklahoma.
• FSU is 4-2 in bowls under Fisher while Michigan is 1-0 in bowls under Jim Harbaugh. As an FBS head coach, Harbaugh is 2-1, which includes an Orange Bowl victory while at Stanford in 2010.
• This is Michigan’s first appearance in the Orange Bowl since beating Alabama 35-34 in overtime to conclude the 1999 season. It’s just the Wolverines’ third appearance in the Orange Bowl.
• Michigan is 3-0 all-time in bowls against schools from Florida, with all three wins coming over Florida. The most recent was last season as the Wolverines beat the Gators 41-7 in the Citrus Bowl. This is FSU’s first bowl game against a school from Michigan.
• Against current Big Ten teams, FSU is 8-1-1 all-time in bowl games. Against current ACC teams, Michigan is 2-1 all-time in bowl games.

Good Times, Bad Times

All-Time Series: Series tied 1-1. Both previous meetings were in Ann Arbor. Michigan won 20-18 in 1986 and FSU returned the favor in 1991, 51-31.
Good Times: Florida State claimed its first national championship in the Orange Bowl at the conclusion of the 1993 season. Against No. 2 Nebraska, top-ranked Florida State used a short field goal from Scott Bentley in the final minute to go up 18-16. FSU looked to have sealed the victory by tackling Nebraska’s Trumane Bell in bounds on a long completion, but officials put a second back on the clock. With a chance to steal the title, Nebraska kicker Bryon Bennett hooked a 45-yard field goal to the left.

Florida State scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter at the end of the 1995 season to down Notre Dame 31-26 and extend its streak of 10-win seasons to nine. Quarterback Danny Kanell passed for 290 yards and four touchdowns in the win, with three going to receiver Andre Cooper. That included the game-winner with just more than six minutes to play.

Following their first ACC title in seven years, the Seminoles won their first major bowl game in 13 by defeating Northern Illinois 31-10 at the conclusion of the 2012 season. Lonnie Pryor rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries while quarterback E.J. Manuel accounted for more than 300 total yards and two total touchdowns. FSU more than doubled the Huskies’ total yardage output, 534-259.

Bad Times: FSU has had a pair of potential national championships slip through its hands thanks to losses in the Orange Bowl and both came to Oklahoma. The undefeated Seminoles lost 24-7 to Oklahoma to conclude the 1979 season and for the 2000 BCS title, the Sooners beat FSU, 13-2.

Florida State and Oklahoma met in the Orange Bowl for a second straight year to wrap up the 1980 season. Bobby Butler’s recovery of an Oklahoma fumble in the end zone gave FSU a 17-10 lead with more than 11 minutes to play. The Seminoles would hold that lead until the final two minutes as J.C. Watts led the Sooners 78 yards for a touchdown. Watts would give the Sooners the lead and eventual victory by finding Forrest Valora for the 2-point conversion in an 18-17 Oklahoma win.

After an upset of No. 5 Virginia Tech in the inaugural ACC Championship, the 8-4 Seminoles were a healthy underdog against third-ranked Penn State in the Orange Bowl to wrap up the 2005 season. An 87-yard punt return for a touchdown by Willie Reid and a 57-yard touchdown pass from Drew Weatherford to Lorenzo Booker helped FSU take an early 13-7 lead. FSU however, needed a 47-yard field goal from Gary Cismesia with more than four minutes to play to force overtime. Unfortunately in overtime, Cismesia missed a pair of 38-yard field goals. A 29-yard make from Kevin Kelly allowed the Nittany Lions to prevail in three overtimes, 26-23.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Here’s a look at all the articles related to the match-up between FSU and Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl:

Battle-Tested Francois Can Make Plays to Beat Michigan
Mackey Winner Butt Brings Challenge for FSU
Orange Bowl: Position Match-ups
FSU Football: A Look At Michigan QB Wilton Speight
Dalvin Cook, Miami and Don Brown: Something’s Got to Give
FSU With Plenty to Prove, Play for in Orange Bowl 
FSU Football: A First Look at Michigan
Preview: FSU Returns to Miami for Orange Bowl Match-up with Michigan
Staff Predictions for Orange Bowl
Orange Bowl: Tickets for FSU-Michigan a Pretty Penny
Orange Bowl: Five Things to Watch

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson