Michigan
9-4 , 7-2
Texas
10-3 , 6-2
Wolverines Fall to Longhorns in Lopsided Fourth Quarter at Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
12/31/2025 7:33:00 PM | Football
Site: Orlando, Fla. (Camping World Stadium)
Event: Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Score: #13 Texas 41, #18 Michigan 27
Records: U-M (9-4), Texas (10-3)
Attendance: 47,316
Next U-M Event: Season Completed
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The No. 18-ranked University of Michigan football team concluded its 2025 season with a 41-27 loss against No. 13-ranked Texas on Wednesday (Dec. 31) in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium. In a game that saw seven lead changes and 21 penalties enforced across the two teams, the Wolverines were unable to produce late defensive stops against the multi-faceted Longhorns offense.
In the fourth quarter, Texas scored 17 unanswered points, including a 60-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Arch Manning with five minutes remaining in the contest. Texas forced three turnovers in the game's final 18 minutes to secure the Citrus Bowl title.
The game's back-and-forth nature was revealed early, when the Wolverines responded to an opening-drive Texas field goal with one of their own -- a 53-yard boot by Dominic Zvada.
On the ensuing kickoff, Cole Sullivan jarred the ball loose from Longhorn returner Ryan Niblett's hands, and TJ Metcalf recovered the fumble at the Texas 23-yard line to give the Wolverine offense a short field to work with.
Two plays later, Bryce Underwood connected with Kendrick Bell for a leaping 19-yard touchdown grab along the Longhorns' sideline. The pass was ruled incomplete on the field before replay review confirmed Bell's right foot touched down in the end zone before his knee landed out of bounds. The play gave Michigan a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Texas responded with a steady 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive which ended in a three-yard rushing touchdown.
Back on offense, U-M utilized a large dose of Underwood, who ran the ball four times for 56 yards on the drive -- including a 33-yard scamper to the Longhorns four-yard line. The remaining four yards came through the air on a touchdown connection between the first-year duo of Underwood and Andrew Marsh.
Again, the Longhorns responded to the U-M touchdown with one of their own -- a 17-yard passing score which tied the game at 17 with 7:45 remaining in the first half. The score remained this way through the remainder of the second quarter after the Longhorns squandered a scoring opportunity with a fumbled snap and Zvada missed a 45-yard field goal try on the last play of the half.
The Wolverines opened the game's third frame with an explosive 43-yard kick return by Marsh and a 12-play drive which ended in a 31-yard field goal by Zvada. En route to the score, U-M converted on two fourth-down attempts by way of Bryson Kuzdzal runs -- 11 and four yards, respectively.
The call-and-response nature of the contest's first two quarters continued in the second half when Manning, as part of his 155-yard game on the ground, scored a 23-yard rushing touchdown on the next drive to move ahead of the Wolverines, 24-20.
A 51-yard Marsh kick return and six offensive plays later, and the Wolverines found themselves back in a position to score. The effort was cut short, however, when Underwood tossed an interception at the Texas seven-yard line.
Due to a crucial Jaden Mangham tackle for loss on third down, the Longhorns were forced to punt from deep in their own territory, setting up the U-M offense at the Texas 45-yard line. The Wolverines capitalized on the opportunity with a five-yard rushing score. On the designed quarterback run, Underwood dove into an end zone pylon to move the Wolverines back ahead 27-24.
The remainder of the game was dominated by the Longhorns, who scored 17 unanswered points over the remaining 11 minutes. Over this stretch, the Longhorns intercepted two passes, and Manning produced a 30-yard passing touchdown and a 60-yard rushing score. Despite leading the Longhorns with 10:56 left in the contest, U-M was downed 41-27.
The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl loss marks the end of Michigan's 9-4 season.
Team Stats
UM 0, UT 3
UT - Shipley,Mason 43 yd field goal 9 plays, 50 yards, TOP 02:55
UM 3, UT 3
UM - Zvada,Dominic 53 yd field goal 9 plays, 40 yards, TOP 03:49
UM 10, UT 3
UM - Bell,Kendrick 19 yd pass from Underwood,Bryce (Zvada,Dominic kick) 3 plays, 23 yards, TOP 00:41
UM 10, UT 10
UT - Clark,Christian 3 yd run (Shipley,Mason kick), 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:32
UM 17, UT 10
UM - Marsh,Andrew 4 yd pass from Underwood,Bryce (Zvada,Dominic kick) 7 plays, 69 yards, TOP 03:19
UM 17, UT 17
UT - Endries,Jack 17 yd pass from Manning,Arch (Shipley,Mason kick) 8 plays, 74 yards, TOP 02:31
UM 20, UT 17
UM - Zvada,Dominic 31 yd field goal 12 plays, 41 yards, TOP 05:13
UM 20, UT 24
UT - Manning,Arch 23 yd run (Shipley,Mason kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 03:55
UM 27, UT 24
UM - Underwood,Bryce 5 yd run (Zvada,Dominic kick), 11 plays, 45 yards, TOP 05:20
UM 27, UT 31
UT - Lockett,Kaliq 30 yd pass from Manning,Arch (Shipley,Mason kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:02
UM 27, UT 38
UT - Manning,Arch 60 yd run (Shipley,Mason kick), 1 plays, 60 yards, TOP 00:09
UM 27, UT 41
UT - Shipley,Mason 51 yd field goal 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 00:55
