Ahead of the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, here's what's being said about Michigan:
Dan Murphy, ESPN: What's next for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan after Urban Meyer's retirement
“The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday (noon ET, ESPN) gives the Wolverines a chance to beat the SEC's Florida Gators for the third time in four seasons. That would provide a positive end to a December that included the program's fifth consensus All-America pick in the past three years (linebacker Devin Bush), coach Jim Harbaugh's emphatic statement that he has no plans to return to the NFL and a top-five national recruiting class. Again, that's nice and all, but the biggest news for Michigan football in December -- regardless of how Saturday's game shakes out -- occurred weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio.
Urban Meyer's retirement, announced Dec. 4, offered Michigan a sliver of hope in the wake of its most hopeless hour. A little more than a week earlier, Meyer's allegedly most vulnerable team in recent memory embarrassed the favored Wolverines to win his seventh straight game in the series.
The question for Harbaugh and his team in the aftermath of allowing an unprecedented 62 points in the rivalry loss was obvious: If not now, when? The best answer anyone could muster at the time was pretty clear, too: maybe when Meyer moves on.
Meyer didn't make them wait long. Nor did it take long for anyone north of Toledo, Ohio, to ask about what this might mean for Michigan's chances to finally beat Ohio State. Better get used to it. For the next 11 months, every game, roster move, recruiting trip and interview in Ann Arbor will be viewed through the same lens: What does this mean for their chances of beating the Urban-less Buckeyes?
The bowl game against Florida will provide a first peek at some of the pieces.”
Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: Wojo: Wolverines better be ready to play like it matters
“It doesn’t mean as much as it could, or as much as it should. It’s not part of college football’s main dish, more like a hearty appetizer.
But don’t be a hypocrite here and suggest the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl matchup between No. 7 Michigan (10-2) and No. 10 Florida (9-3) Saturday means nothing. We know how the narrative has grown, that outside of the four playoff teams, the bowls are part-exhibition and part-audition. More and more players are sitting out to prepare for the NFL, including Michigan stars Devin Bush Jr., Rashan Gary and Karan Higdon.
You can’t reasonably argue the players are wrong for protecting their pro futures. Sorry, you can’t. But you also can’t declare the competition irrelevant, a trite simplification.
That supposedly was the case heading into last year’s Outback Bowl, and then Michigan melted down in a 26-19 loss to South Carolina. All of a sudden, Jim Harbaugh had 8-5 stenciled on his ledger and miffed fans ran shrieking into the streets about a “meaningless” game.
The truth is, these bowls don’t necessarily mean a ton — unless you lose.
The Wolverines know it as well as anyone, having faded to the finish the past two seasons, with bowl losses to Florida State and South Carolina. In fact, the last time Michigan felt really good headed into the offseason was after a 41-7 Citrus Bowl pounding of Florida concluded Harbaugh’s first season at 10-3.”
“Michigan's collective message the past month has been that all focus remains centered on getting an 11th win. Players and coaches have talked about finishing the year strong, despite losing all their goals a month ago at Ohio State. The Wolverines have said everything they're supposed to say.
But we're about to find out whether or not they mean it.
Bowl games can be tricky, especially when the stakes are so much lower than they are at the end of the regular season. Michigan entered Columbus on Nov. 24 with a chance to play in the Big Ten championship game and perhaps the program's first College Football Playoff game. Sixty minutes later, Michigan's fan base was angry and national talking heads were proclaiming, "This is a bad look for Harbaugh," from every corner of the country.
Michigan has taken time to heal from that loss, and players have done their best to explain how much a bowl game means to them, how much they want to be here.
Others have made it clear they didn't want to be here. Rashan Gary, Devin Bush Jr., Karan Higdon and Juwann Bushell-Beatty aren't playing. They're all focused on the next chapter of their careers, in the NFL. For them, the Peach Bowl wasn't worth the squeeze. Or the risk. It's hard to blame anyone for that, but it does bring up a fair question:
Has that mindset leaked into the minds of some younger players on this roster? Guys who had to be away from family on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for a bowl game they wanted no part of six weeks ago?
For some, this game means everything.”
John Borton, The Wolverine.com: Yes, It Matters
“A Michigan fan might (not unreasonably) think, well, if some of the team’s best players don’t care much about the Wolverines’ final game this season, why should I?
Here’s why.
They’re going to play football in The Big House in 2019, regardless of who deigns to perform. Michigan should be strong, too, a top-10 team coming in with a returning quarterback and a skilled and seasoned group of wide receivers, a veteran offensive line, plenty of talent on defense and strong special teams.
That season starts Saturday, for all practical purposes. There is no lack of Wolverines excited to show what that might look like.
Start with junior quarterback Shea Patterson. He doubled down, in no uncertain terms, regarding the continued effort to climb to the top of the Big Ten and beyond. That includes taking down Ohio State, which humiliated the Wolverines in the final regular-season game.”
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