Overview
- Arch Manning accounted for four touchdowns and 376 yards, earning MVP honors with 221 passing yards and 155 rushing yards, including a 60-yard late score.
- Michigan freshman Bryce Underwood totaled three touchdowns but threw three second-half interceptions, including a red-zone pick, as the Wolverines finished 9-4.
- Texas closed at 10-3 behind Christian Clark’s 105 rushing yards, a 30-yard touchdown catch by freshman Kaliq Lockett, and two late interceptions by Ty'Anthony Smith.
- New Michigan head coach Kyle Whittingham had been formally named days earlier and watched from the box in Orlando, while interim Biff Poggi coached the bowl.
- Michigan’s depth was thinned by opt-outs after a chaotic December that included Sherrone Moore’s firing and arrest, and donor Dave Portnoy publicly floated Urban Meyer as a possible special assistant without any formal move.