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One of the perks of bowl games is the extracurricular activities that come along with the trip.
The Michigan players have enjoyed go-karting (for example) as one of their many fun activities while in Atlanta for the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, along with several other competitive games.
While those additional activities are obviously meant to be enjoyed, the athletes have insisted the time down south is all about business, and that nothing will distract them from their preparation to beat the Gators this weekend.
Passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton was asked on Thursday about the work the team is putting in this week, and insisted his guys are motivated to put the Ohio State loss in November behind them.
“Our players can’t wait to get out and play, because it’s been a while since we’ve taken the field,” he explained. “To be frank, we have a bad taste in our mouths, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to play some high-level football on Saturday.
“We’ve [the coaches] been in the film room for the most part, but there have been some mandated things we’ve participated in. It’s important we put our players in the best position to be successful.”
Despite being from two separate conferences, Saturday’s showdown will be the third matchup in the last four years between the Wolverines and Gators.
Michigan holds a 4-0 all-time mark against Florida, with each of the four meetings occurring since the 2002 season.
Not only will U-M look to improve that record to 5-0 this weekend, but will also be searching for its 11th victory for just the 10th time in program history (Michigan has been playing football since 1879).
Hamilton insisted, however, that the recent history with the Gators won’t help in this year’s game, due to the coaching change in Gainesville (Dan Mullen is in his first year as head coach there).
“They have a different defensive coordinator than the last time we played, so it’s a different scheme,” he observed. “We know about the talent they currently have on defense, and it’s arguably the best defensive front we’ll have seen this season.
“It’s always our goal to control the line of scrimmage, and it’ll be a tremendous challenge. It’s an SEC defense with a lot of team speed, and has play makers on all three levels.
“We have to do the things we’ve done all season that have helped us win games, and that’s running the football first, and then setting everything else up from there.”
Saturday's game between Michigan and Florida will kick off at noon, and will be played indoors at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Florida primarily employs a 3-4 look in its defensive front seven, which is something that isn’t necessarily common nowadays at the collegiate level.
Hamilton was asked, however, which Big Ten foe runs the most similar defensive system, and he had some interesting comparisons.
“Scheme-wise, they’re probably most similar to Penn State,” he admitted. “They have a tremendous amount of talent and are similar to the team down south — south of Michigan — in that regard.
“Our guys will be ready to play at a high level, though, and one of the many things [junior quarterback] Shea [Patterson] has proven is that no moment is too big for him.
“He has made plays all season when our team has needed him the most.”
Patterson was incredibly efficient all year for the Wolverines, completing 65.1 percent of his passes for 2,364 yards. On top of that, his 21-5 touchdown-to-interception was the second best mark in the Big Ten.
A dangerous receiving trio made up of redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry (30 grabs for 475 yards) and sophomore wideouts Donovan Peoples-Jones (39 receptions for 541 yards) and Nico Collins (33 catches for 552 yards) helped Patterson tremendously in that area.
Receivers coach Jim McElwain, however, departed to take the Central Michigan job earlier this month, and will not be with the team in Atlanta (Ben McDaniels is the new wideouts coach).
McElwain — who happened to be the head man at Florida from 2015-17 during two of its meetings with Michigan — was praised by Hamilton on Thursday for the experience and knowledge he brought to the staff during his one year in Ann Arbor.
“It was great to have Jim here for both our coaches and players,” he explained. “He brought a wealth of experience and his people skills were off the charts — we liked to call him Uncle Mac.
“He shared the experiences he had over the years with not only myself, but everyone else. We miss him and wish him the best at Central Michigan.”
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