This year’s Peach Bowl will feature two of college football’s bluebloods at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as the 10th-ranked Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference and the seventh-ranked Michigan Wolverines of the Big 10 Conference renew pleasantries in Atlanta on Dec. 29 at high noon. As soon as the match-up was announced this afternoon, the secondary markets started buzzing. The get-in price is $160 according to mgoblue.com/tickets.
Tickets are available on a first-come, first served basis starting tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.
Both schools possess vibrant alumni and fan bases in the city of Atlanta, and the game is shaping up to be a hot one on the field. Michigan comes into the game 10-2. Their two losses against Notre Dame and Ohio State bookend a ten game winning streak which saw their defense ascend to number one in the nation.
“We are honored to represent the Big Ten Conference in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl,” said Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh in a press release. “Florida is a great football team and we look forward to the opportunity to compete against them. We are excited to have our student-athletes and fans experience the Peach Bowl during the holiday season.”
The Wolverines and Gators have played twice already under Harbaugh. Michigan destroyed Florida in the 2016 Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day, 41-7, and won the 2017 season opener in Arlington, Texas, 33-17.
However, the 2018 Florida Gators are a different team under new Head Coach Dan Mullen. They are 9-3 on the season and have played great at times during the 2018 campaign.
“We are looking forward to our trip to Atlanta for the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “I’m proud of our team of how they have embraced everything this year and finished strong and now they get the reward of playing in a high-profile bowl game for the opportunity to win 10 games.”
The Gators will make their 44th bowl appearance (22-21 overall record) and 18th New Year’s Six appearances.
The match-up will represent Michigan’s first time playing a bowl game in Georgia, as the Wolverines have only played bowl games in Florida, California, Texas, Arizona and Louisiana so far. Michigan has a 21-25 record in bowl games. The Big Ten Conference has participated in the Peach Bowl seven times, compiling a 2-5 record. The Big Ten hasn’t played in the game since 1990, when Indiana lost to Auburn, 27-24 at Fulton County Stadium. Illinois, Iowa, and Purdue are the only other teams from the conference to play in the Peach Bowl.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better matchup for our first Big 10 vs. SEC game in 28 years with two top-10 teams,” Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl CEO and president Gary Stokan said in a release. “We have a showdown between two storied programs that have combined for 14 National Championships, 50 conference championships, and six Heisman Trophy winners. It’s going to be an incredible way to start the New Year’s Six bowl games.”
