2015 Citrus Bowl, Michigan vs. Florida: Date, time, location and more

One of only two bowl games played on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day that isn’t one of the New Year’s Six decided by the College Football Playoff committee, the Citrus Bowl will continue its lengthy history with another matchup between the Big Ten and SEC.

The SEC has a five-game winning streak in the game as the SEC offenses have managed to hang at least 30 points on the Big Ten defenses in each of the last five games.

Founded as the Tangerine Bowl in 1947, it wasn’t until 1983 that the game became known as the Florida Citrus Bowl. After a 12-year stint as the Capital One Bowl, it became the Citrus Bowl once again last year when Buffalo Wild Wings took over as the title sponsor.

Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this year’s Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl:

Date and time: Friday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m.

TV channel: ABC

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Stadium: Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium, 65,000

Last year’s score: Missouri 33, Minnesota 17

Last year’s attendance: 48,624

Last year’s TV rating: 3.6

Last year’s payout for each school: $4.25 million

Teams with the most all-time appearances: Georgia, 6

Teams with the most all-time wins: Georgia and Tennessee, 4

If you would have told a Michigan fan before the season that the Wolverines would finish 9-3 in Jim Harbaugh’s first year, they probably would have taken it,€” especially after missing a bowl game under Brady Hoke last season. Michigan bounced back from an opening loss to Utah to dominate 10-2 Northwestern, 38-0, and the Wolverines’ only other two losses came to Michigan State on a fluke play and to Ohio State in the final game of the season.

The defense has been the story of the season for the Wolverines. They pitched three straight shutouts against BYU, Maryland and Northwestern, and gave up 16 or fewer points in seven of their 12 games. That’s thanks to a monstrous defensive front and the outstanding secondary combination of Jabrill Peppers and Jourdan Lewis.

The offense has been a work in progress, but it has improved substantially in the second half of the season with graduate transfer quarterback Jake Rudock behind center. But the last-second loss to Michigan State and the blowout loss to Ohio State leave a poor taste in the mouth of this program.

Last bowl game: 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (31-14 loss to Kansas State)

All-time bowl record: 20-23

Head coach’s bowl record: Jim Harbaugh is 1-1 in bowl games, both at Stanford. He lost the 2009 Sun Bowl and won the 2011 Orange Bowl.

Despite a valiant effort by their defense, the Florida Gators ultimately fell to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game. It was a fitting end to a regular season that had a very different feel to it after Will Grier was suspended for failing an NCAA drug test. The Gators finished the regular season with just two losses, but had some trouble along the way.

The defense was phenomenal all season, as expected. However, the story of the first half of the season was the emergence of the Grier-led offense. The country took notice of the Gators as a serious College Football Playoff contender when Florida toppled Ole Miss, which was ranked No. 3 at the time. After Grier was replaced by Treon Harris in the starting lineup, the Gators fell to LSU, struggled to beat Vanderbilt and FAU, and lost to rival Florida State in the season-finale.

Florida’s recipe for success is simple -- do just enough on offense and hope the defense can suffocate its opponent. That strategy has worked well enough for the Gators against lesser opponents, but didn’t work out against LSU, Florida State or Alabama. Whether or not they’re able to get enough from the offense to compliment their NFL talent-laden defense will determine the outcome of their bowl game.

Last bowl game: 2014 Birmingham Bowl (28-20 win over East Carolina)

All-time bowl record: 21-20

Head coach’s bowl record: Jim McElwain is 1-0 as a head coach in bowl games (2013 with Colorado State). He did not coach in Colorado State’s 2014 bowl appearance after accepting the Florida job.