2025 Citrus Bowl
| 2025 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 80th Citrus Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Camping World Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Arch Manning (QB, Texas) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Texas by 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Mike Roche (ACC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 47,316 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline) (ABC) Troy Clardy (play-by-play), Je'Rod Cherry (analyst), and Marilyn Payne (sideline) (ESPN Radio) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025 Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2025, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The 80th annual Citrus Bowl began at approximately 3:00 p.m. EST and aired on ABC.[1][2] The Citrus Bowl was one of the 2025–26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by Cheez-It crackers and officially known as the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
The No. 13 Texas Longhorns from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) defeated the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines from the Big Ten Conference, 41–27.[3]
Teams
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured teams from the Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference (SEC). On December 7, bowl organizers announced Texas and Michigan as the 2025 participants. This was the third matchup between the teams, with Texas having won both prior meetings, the 2005 Rose Bowl and a regular-season game during the 2024 season.[4] Michigan had previously appeared in the Citrus Bowl six times, with four victories, while this was the first appearance for Texas.[5]
Michigan Wolverines
Michigan finished with a 9–3 overall record (7–2 in Big Ten play) during the regular season.[6] They faced two ranked teams during the season, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 1 Ohio State, losing to both. The Wolverines entered the Citrus Bowl ranked 18th in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings. On December 10, Michigan announced head coach Sherrone Moore had been fired due to "credible evidence" he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.[7] The Wolverines subsequently announced that Biff Poggi would serve as interim head coach during the bowl game.[8] Prior the bowl, first-year offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey also left the program, taking the same position at Missouri.[9]
Prior to the game, multiple Michigan players announced they would opt-out of the bowl game. Derrick Moore, Jaishawn Barham, and Giovanni El-Hadi declared for the 2026 NFL draft, while Jordan Marshall, Justice Haynes, Ernest Hausmann, Andrew Sprague, Evan Link, Max Bredeson, and Rod Moore did not participate due to injuries.[10]
Texas Longhorns
Texas also finished with an overall regular-season record of 9–3 (6–2 in SEC play).[11] The Longhorns opened the season ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. They suffered losses to No. 3 Ohio State and unranked Florida before beating No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 9 Vanderbilt. A 35–10 loss to Georgia in mid-November dashed the Longhorns' CFP chances.[12] Despite their rivalry week upset of unbeaten No. 3 Texas A&M, Texas finished as the highest-ranked SEC team outside of the playoff bracket. The Longhorns entered the Citrus Bowl ranked 13th in the final CFP rankings.
Prior to the game, 19 Longhorn players announced they would opt-out of the bowl game due to their intention to enter the transfer portal or declare for the NFL draft. These players included CJ Baxter, Quintrevion Wisner, Michael Taaffe, Anthony Hill Jr., Malik Muhammad, and Ethan Burke.[13]
Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 18 Michigan | 10 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 27 |
| No. 13 Texas | 3 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 41 |
at Camping World Stadium • Orlando, Florida
- Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025
- Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 57 °F (14 °C) • Wind: 9 mph (14 km/h) northwest
- Game attendance: 47,316
- Referee: Mike Roche (ACC)
- TV announcers (ABC): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline)
- Box score
| Game information |
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Texas opened the scoring in the first quarter via a 43-yard field goal by Mason Shipley. Michigan scored ten points in the quarter via a 53-yard field goal by Dominic Zvada and a 19-yard touchdown pass from Bryce Underwood to Kendrick Bell, to take their first lead of the game. Texas tied the game in the second quarter via a three-yard touchdown run by Christian Clark. Michigan responded with a four-yard touchdown pass from Underwood to Andrew Marsh to regain the lead. Texas scored the final points of the half via a 17-yard touchdown pass from Arch Manning to Jack Endries. The score was tied, 17–17, at halftime. Michigan opened the scoring in the second half via a 31-yard field goal by Zvada. Texas responded with a 23-yard touchdown run by Manning to regain the lead. Michigan regained the lead in the fourth quarter via a five-yard touchdown run by Underwood. Texas responded with 17 unanswered points in the quarter via a 30-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Kaliq Lockett, a 60-yard touchdown run by Manning, and a 51-yard field goal by Shipley. The game featured seven lead changes. Texas' defense forced three turnovers in the final 18 minutes of the game to secure the Citrus Bowl title.[14]
Statistics
| Statistics | MICH | TEX |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 73–373 | 76–456 |
| Rushes–yards | 38–174 | 33–235 |
| Passing yards | 199 | 221 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23–42–3 | 21–34–0 |
| Time of possession | 33:08 | 26:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | Passing | Bryce Underwood | 22–37, 191 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Bryson Kuzdzal | 20 carries, 82 yards | |
| Receiving | Donaven McCulley | 4 receptions, 54 yards | |
| Texas | Passing | Arch Manning | 21–34, 221 yards, 2 TD |
| Rushing | Arch Manning | 9 carries, 155 yards, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Ryan Wingo | 4 receptions, 64 yards |
References
- ^ "2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, dates, TV channel, sites". NCAA.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
- ^ "Texas' Manning Caps Big Day with 60-Yard TD Run in Citrus Bowl Win". ESPN. December 31, 2025. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
- ^ "Michigan vs. Texas football series history games list". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
- ^ jmason (2025-12-07). "No. 13 Texas, No. 18 Michigan to meet in 2025 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl". Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
- ^ "Michigan Wolverines". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
- ^ Thamel, Pete; Wetzel, Dan; Schefter, Adam (2025-12-10). "U-M fires Moore for inappropriate relationship". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2025-12-10.
- ^ "With Sherrone Moore fired, Michigan turns back to Biff Poggi". mlive.com. Retrieved December 10, 2025.
- ^ "Chip Lindsey Selected to Coordinate Mizzou Offense". MU Tigers.
- ^ Lozon, Von (December 31, 2025). "Michigan Football Injury Report: Citrus Bowl vs Texas". Maize n Brew. SB Nation. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
- ^ "Texas Longhorns". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
- ^ "'A disaster.' How Texas flopped at finish against Georgia, harpooning CFP hopes". mlive.com. Retrieved December 12, 2025.
- ^ "Opt-Out Tracker: Texas players who are opting out of the Longhorns' Citrus Bowl matchup against Michigan". 247Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2025.
- ^ Ablauf, Dave; Shepard, Chad (December 31, 2025). "Wolverines Fall to Longhorns in Lopsided Fourth Quarter at Cheez-It Citrus Bowl". MGoBlue.com. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
External links
- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com