Steve Sarkisian Makes Bold Prediction for Texas vs. Michigan at Citrus Bowl

The Texas Longhorns are getting ready to close out their 2025 season on New Year's Eve in Orlando against the Michigan Wolverines at the Citrus Bowl.

Texas came up short of the College Football Playoff this year for the first time since 2022, but the Longhorns will still have a chance at a third straight 10-win season if they can

There's no doubt that the matchup, despite being a non-playoff bowl game, will draw some meaningful eyes right before the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals due to the presence of two iconic brands, but Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is taking this notion one step further.

Steve Sarkisian's Viewership Prediction for Texas vs. Michigan

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood looks to pass against Purdue during the first half at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While speaking with the media during Tuesday's press conference, Sarkisian said that he think the viewership numbers for the Citrus Bowl will out-perform some of the College Football Playoff games that took place in the first round.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we actually out-do viewership of some of these playoff games that were played because I think that's ultimately what the Citrus Bowl has been able to do," Sarkisian said. " ... What they've been able to hit home runs on is viewership. I'm as excited as anybody to see what does our number look like coming out of this game on the 31st, how many viewers do we have?"

Texas and Michigan both have massive fans bases, but with the game being somewhat meaningless in the championship picture, it remains to be seen just how many eyes it will draw. The presence of Arch Manning vs. Bryce Underwood certainly helps, though both teams have already lost multiple players due to draft opt-outs and the transfer portal.

It's easy to rule out the Citrus Bowl out-performing Texas A&M vs. Miami and Alabama vs. Oklahoma, both of which produced nearly 15 million average viewers. However, the outcomes of both Ole Miss vs. Tulane and Oregon vs. James Madison were expected, leading to only 6.2 million and 4.4 million average viewers, respectively.

The '25-'26 #CFBPlayoff First Round delivered 9.9M avg. viewers via ABC/ESPN & @TNTSportsUS

🏈 @AlabamaFTBL-@OU_Football | 14.9M viewers
🏈 @CanesFootball-@AggieFootball | 14.8M
🏈 @GreenWaveFB-@OleMissFB | 6.2M
🏈 @JMUFootball-@oregonfootball | 4.4M pic.twitter.com/S7y1Ng1kE7
— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) December 23, 2025

Will Texas vs. Michigan top that? Only time will tell.

Either way, the Citrus Bowl still brings a ton of intrigue between two historic programs that will be meeting for just the third time ever. Texas 2-0 against the Wolverines, which includes a 31-12 win in Ann Arbor last season.

"Look at the iconic brands that have come and competed in this game year in and year out. And this year is no different. They're getting Texas versus Michigan right in a prime time kickoff slot right before the playoffs," Sarkisian said.