Weekly Michigan football bowl projections following loss to Ohio State

The Wolverines’ postseason path remains unchanged as bowl experts again slot Michigan into the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.

Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore leads his team onto the field for the NCAA football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. on Nov. 29, 2025. Ohio State won 27-9. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With the regular season officially coming to a close on Saturday following the Michigan Wolverines’ 27-9 loss to Ohio State, we now have a pretty clear idea of where UofM will be playing in the postseason.

Since week nine, experts have stayed consistent with the bowl projections for the Wolverines; not much has changed in this week’s edition.

Another New Week, Same Bowl Projection

Since we started tracking this in week nine, the Wolverines have been projected to be in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on a week-in and week-out basis.

If that comes to fruition, the Wolverines would be playing in Orlando, Fla., on New Year's Eve at 3 p.m.

In program history, Michigan is 4-2 in the Citrus Bowl, with its most recent appearance being Jan. 1, 2020, falling to Alabama 35-16.

Michigan Wolverines defensive back TJ Metcalf (7) and defensive back Zeke Berry (10) celebrate in the first half of the NCAA football game at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Projected Opponent

Both ESPN (Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach) and Sports Illustrated (Bryan Fischer) have the Wolverines taking on Texas. Meanwhile, CBS Sports has Vanderbilt taking on UofM.

Vandy and Texas have been the two opponents mentioned for the last five weeks. The Commodores are 10-2 overall, while Texas is 9-3, both of their fan bases believe that they should be in the College Football Playoff conversation.

After defeating Texas A&M, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke on the Longhorns making the CFP.

"If you really look at the body of work and you look at the Southeastern Conference and what we have to go through every week, look at the non-conference schedule we play to go to Ohio State in Week 1 and lose by seven and we outgained them by nearly 200 yards - we have a really good football team," Sark said. "It'd be a disservice to our sport if this team's not a playoff team when we went and scheduled that non-conference game. Because if we're a 10-2 team, it's not a question, but we were willing to go and play that game (at Ohio State). So, is that what college football's about? Don't play anybody and just have a good record or play the best and put the best teams in the playoff? We're one of the best teams."

Nov 22, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian pauses during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Despite that speech, it is pretty unlikely that we will see a three-loss Longhorn squad in the playoff, unless there is a ridiculous level of SEC bias. 

With neither team making the playoffs, it will be a toss-up between the Longhorns and Commodores to take on UofM. But it is almost certain Michigan can expect to take on one of the two squads. 

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