Click HERE to sign up for a subscription to TheWolverine.com and get your FREE gift code for $99 in Michigan apparel and gear!

The Wolverines have been matched up with a team from the SEC in six of their last nine postseason contests, including this Saturday's showdown with Florida in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

The Gators are an especially familiar opponent for the Maize and Blue, with this weekend's outing marking the third time in four years the two programs will have faced each other (though it's worth noting the 2017 matchup came in the season opener).

The series has been owned by Michigan, which holds a 4-0 all-time record against the squad from Gainesville, with the first meeting occurring in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2003 (a 38-30 U-M win).

Here's a look at the Maize and Blue's 14 all-time bowl matchups with SEC foes:

U-M first postseason clash with an SEC club didn't occur until Jan. 2, 1984, when it fell to Auburn in the Sugar Bowl.

Michigan had been to 14 bowl games prior to its showdown with the Tigers in 1984, but 11 of the 14 were Rose Bowls, and the other three included appearances in the Orange, Gator and Bluebonnet Bowls.

Michigan regularly began facing clubs from the SEC in the '90s and early 2000s, and enjoyed plenty of success against them during that era.

From the Jan. 2, 1988 win over Alabama until the Jan. 1, 2008 victory over Florida, the Wolverines put together a fabulous 7-2 record against the SEC, with the only two losses coming to a 10-3 Alabama squad in 1997 and an 11-2 Tennessee club in 2002.

Since Lloyd Carr's 41-35 defeat of the Gators in his final game as a collegiate head coach on Jan. 1, 2008, however, the tides have turned a bit.

Michigan is just 1-3 in its last four postseason outings against the SEC (all since Jan. 1, 2011), with Rich Rodriguez, Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh each having picked up a loss.

The one win in that span, however, belongs to Harbaugh, when his debut 2015 Maize and Blue squad annihilated the Gators, 41-7, in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2016.

Harbaugh reached the 10-win plateau at Michigan this season for the third time in his four years at the helm, but has yet to cross the 11-victory barrier. He will have a chance to do so on Saturday.

It should be noted, however, that the Wolverines have won at least 10 games three times in a four-year span for the first time since 1997-99, when it went 12-0, 10-3 and 10-2, respectively.

4 Potential starters for Michigan who will miss the game — senior running back Karan Higdon, fifth-year senior right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty, junior defensive end Rashan Gary and junior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. Higdon, Gary and Bush are choosing to sit out and get a head start on their NFL preparation (although Bush is still dealing with an injury he suffered in the Ohio State loss), while Bushell-Beatty will miss the contest with a turf toe ailment.

9 Times in school history that U-M has won 11 or more games in a single season (the program began playing football in 1879). A victory over the Gators would give the Wolverines their 11th triumph for the just the 10th time, with the previous nine occurrences being 1901, 1902, 1903, 1905, 1971, 1986, 1997, 2006 and 2011.

11 Sacks and 16 tackles for loss for Florida junior defensive end Jachai Polite. His 11 quarterback takedowns are tied for the second most in the SEC, and his 16 TFLs rank third. Michigan's sack leader, meanwhile, is junior linebacker Josh Uche (seven) and its tackle for loss leader is fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich (14.5).

47th Bowl game for U-M. The Wolverines have an all-time record of 21-25 in postseason affairs, and went to their first one on Jan. 1, 1902, when they defeated Stanford, 49-0, in the first-ever Rose Bowl. However, they didn't go to another bowl game until Jan. 1, 1948, and only attended two more prior to the 1970s. From 1921-45, the Big Ten did not allow its programs to go to the postseason, and from 1946-74 only the conference champion was allowed to go (and no team was permitted to go two years in a row).

58.5 Completion percentage for Florida redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks, which ranks 10th in the SEC. Michigan's secondary, on the other hand, is allowing a 48.9 completion percentage to opponents, which is the second-best mark in college football.

72nd Is where Florida's rush defense ranks nationally, allowing 169.6 yards per game. It also checks in at 11th in the SEC and will be going up against a Michigan rushing attack that is 25th in the FBS, accumulating 214.3 yards per outing.

2011 Was the last time U-M won one of college football's major bowl games. The Wolverines defeated Virginia Tech, 23-20, in the Sugar Bowl that season (which was considered a BCS contest at the time) and have only played in one since — the Orange Bowl following the 2016 campaign, where they lost to Florida State, 33-32.

2017 Is when the Mercedes-Benz Stadium opened in Atlanta, which is where Michigan and Florida will square off. Its construction cost was $1.6 billion, and it is home to the Atlanta Falcons and the Atlanta United FC soccer team of the MLS. Its capacity is 75,000 for football games.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.

• Like us on Facebook