Michigan Wolverines Vs. Florida State Seminoles: Bold Predictions For Capital One Orange Bowl

The Michigan Wolverines were one of the best teams in college football all season long. As a result, there are plenty of folks who thought the Wolverines deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff. Whether you hold that belief or not, Michigan will take on the Florida State Seminoles in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

This contest has must-watch written all over it. Michigan enters the Orange Bowl with the No. 6 ranking in college football, while Florida State is ranked No. 11.

One might be wondering how these two teams got here.

The Wolverines started 2016 off with nine wins in a row. Then, they lost two of three, which included a heartbreaker against the Ohio State Buckeyes in overtime. Thanks to those two losses, Michigan missed out on the Big Ten championship and playoff.

The Wolverines’ signature wins, if you will, came against the Colorado Buffaloes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Wisconsin Badgers. Of course, Penn State and Wisconsin met up in the Big Ten championship game while Colorado played in the Pac-12 title game.

And now, let’s hand the ball over to Florida State.

The Seminoles started off the season with two straight victories before going down to the Louisville Cardinals. Going down might be putting it lightly as Florida State lost by the score of 63-20. The 9-3 Seminoles’ other losses came against the North Carolina Tar Heels and Clemson Tigers.

The Seminoles have knocked off three ranked opponents (at the time) on the season, which includes a 31-13 victory against the Florida Gators, who were ranked No. 15 at the time.

For what it’s worth, Florida State enters the Orange Bowl on a four-game winning streak, while Michigan is coming off of a loss.

Before the Orange Bowl festivities get underway, let’s take a look at some bold predictions for this big-stage showdown.

Dalvin Cook Has Himself A Day, Racks Up 200-Plus Rushing Yards

Dalvin Cook is one of the best players in college football — there’s no doubt about it. The proof lies in his stats. The running machine has racked up 1,620 rushing yards, 18 rushing touchdowns, 426 receiving yards, and one more score through the air.

Although Cook got off to a slow start, the Seminole has been one of the best running backs in the sport for a good majority of the season. He has dropped 100-plus rushing yards in eight out of his last nine outings, after all.

Look for Cook to go off for 200-plus rushing yards against Michigan. Considering the Wolverines are only allowing 116.8 rushing yards per game (ranked No. 13 in college football in that category), the bold meter is certainly being raised a notch or two with this prediction.

First Team To 35 Wins This Battle

One might be wondering why this is bold. For starters, the Wolverines are only allowing 12.5 points per game (second-best in the nation in that category). With that said, Michigan is averaging 41 points per contest while Florida State is averaging 35.3 points per game.

Nonetheless, both teams are more than capable of going off in the scoring department, and it will be interesting to see how motivated the Wolverines are for this bowl game after missing out on the College Football Playoff.

Florida State Pulls Off The Victory In Upset Fashion

The Seminoles have done some serious rebounding in the 2016 college football season. Florida State was once 3-2 on the season. The team is currently 9-3.

The Wolverines are not only ranked No. 6, but they were a College Football Playoff contender for essentially the entire season. If they would have won their last regular season game, which was played on the road against the Buckeyes, then they would have made the Big Ten title game. Their opponent would have been the Badgers, a team that the Wolverines already took down earlier in the year. Michigan was oh-so-very close to making the playoff.

There are probably plenty of fans out there who think Jim Harbaugh’s squad is going to run away with the victory, and those fans could be right. The name of the game is bold predictions, though, and saying Florida State will score 35 or more points on the Wolverines in victory fashion certainly fits the bill.

If Cook has himself a monster game, then things could get very interesting, and the Seminoles could end up winning the Orange Bowl.

[Featured Image by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images]