2025 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Prediction: Michigan vs Texas
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The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl just took an interesting turn.
It’s Texas, and it’s Michigan. That should be enough for any game no matter what, but for these two, it’s a jumping-off point to bigger things.
The outcome doesn’t really matter, other than that Michigan has never beaten Texas – losing in a whale of a 2005 Rose Bowl, and last year in a 31-12 blowout early in the season – so it should be a fun battle between two powerhouses.
And new Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham should be on the sidelines.
Michigan vs Texas Matchups, Odds, and 2025 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl Pick
Biff Poggi is an interesting man.
He’s a former hedge fund manager who turned into a key assistant football coach at Michigan, left to take the Charlotte head coaching gig, struggled, was let go, came back to Michigan, and now he’s thrown into the mix as the interim coach after Sherrone Moore and before Whittingham shows up.
He’s going to coach the stuff out of whatever he has to work with.
Texas is losing a boatload of talent, but 16 is playing.
Arch Manning is returning, the Longhorns will get to see what they have to get a jump on next season, and …
It’s Texas, and it’s Michigan. Let’s go.
How To Watch Michigan vs Texas
Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
Game Time: 3:00 pm ET
TV: ABC
Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
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College Football Playoff Predictions
Rose Bowl: Alabama vs Indiana
Cotton Bowl: Ohio State vs Miami
Orange Bowl: Oregon vs Texas Tech
Sugar Bowl: Georgia vs Ole Miss
Why Michigan Will Win
Texas didn’t exactly kill it with the running game this season, and now it has to try grinding it out against the Michigan run defense without Quintrevion Wisner and all the running backs who did much of anything this year – they’re all in the transfer portal. And that’s not the worst part for the Longhorns.
The great Texas defense should be missing just about everyone of note in the secondary, won’t have its top pass rushers, and in all, will be a shell of its regular-season self.
How much does that matter with Michigan’s probable opt-outs? This is where it gets tricky.
The timing of the Whittingham hire might delay or just stop some of the players were were going to skip this – this will be updated depending on the status of starting quarterback Bryce Underwood.
With all the likely missing parts, Michigan should be relatively okay on the lines. As long as this gets into a low-scoring slog, there’s a shot the Wolverines can grind it out like they did late last year in the wins over Ohio State and Alabama.
Again, Texas wasn’t great on the ground, and it’s not about to go off for 250 rushing yards in this, putting even more pressure on …
Why Texas Will Win
Texas at least knows who its starting quarterback will be.
Arch Manning will be asked to throw and throw and throw some more. If you wanted to see the guy try to carry an offense all by himself, here you go.
Yes, the Longhorns will be missing a whole slew of important players. But at the moment, their situation is neat and tidy compared to what’s about to run out of the tunnel for Michigan.
The Wolverines are a hot mess.
Not only is Poggi cheesed after, seemingly, not being seriously considered for the head coaching job, but he’s still trying to figure out what he has to work with.
While the Whittingham hiring might turn out to be a plus overall, he doesn’t have a ton of time to sell the guys in place to stick around – coming up with the right coaching staff will take a bit, and Michigan doesn’t have that much time.
Oh yeah, and the game itself …
Even if Michigan was all back full, this isn’t the type of team that can keep up in any sort of offensive fight.
It’s all about the running game. It lost all three times it didn’t get to 175 yards on the ground, and Texas – as depleted as it may be – will throw everyone at the Wolverine backfield to make Underwood throw …
If it’s Underwood.
Arkansas was the only team able to run for more than 160 yards on Texas this season.
Michigan vs Texas Prediction, Betting Lines
There will be players wearing Michigan and Texas uniforms, and most of them will be players deeply loved and wanted by the vultures circling around both rosters.
The Michigan mass not-show-up thing is still just talk. That could change in a snap, so be ready for this to potentially flip.
And having Steve Sarkisian still around helps, too.
Manning won’t be amazing, but he’ll be steady enough. The Michigan offense will sputter and cough, and it’ll also have a few big plays against mostly Texas second-teamers.
The guess at this point is that the Texas short passing game is just enough to be functional.
Texas 24, Michigan 16
Line: Texas 7.5, o/u: 48.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Must See Rating: 3.5
– Bowl Schedule, Predictions, Lines
Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Related: Kyle Whittingham to Michigan? Look Out, Big Ten
This story was originally published by College Football News on Dec 27, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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