Texas capped off an up and down season with an emphatic 41-27 win over Michigan. The Longhorns remain unbeaten all-time against the Wolverines.
The Story
Texas expected to end their season in the state of Florida back in August. A lot of people did. They just assumed it would be in Miami for the national championship game and not the Cheez-It ReliaQuest Bowl in Orlando. It may not have been the ending they wanted for their season, but it was a great ending nonetheless.
Texas battled back from a first half deficit and finished with their third consecutive ten win season under Steve Sarkisian.
It wasn’t pretty, and Michigan gave Texas fits at times in the first half taking a 17-10 lead in the second quarter. The Longhorns battled back behind Arch Manning who had one of his best games of his career and was named Cheez-It ReliaQuest Bowl MVP. Manning finished with 376 yards of offense and 155 rushing yards along with four touchdowns.
Both sides were playing with double digit numbers of opt-outs and it showed. The two teams combined for 21 penalties and four turnovers. Michigan took a 27-24 early in the fourth quarter, but Texas was able to score 17 unanswered points and force three interceptions from freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood to close out the game.
The Stats
3-6: The SEC is now 3-6 in bowl games.
376: Arch Manning finished with 376 yards, the second most of any game he had all season.
155: Arch Manning rushed for 155 yards against Michigan. That’s roughly 64 percent of what his season total was in the first 12 games combined (244).
The Social Media Reaction
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl:
1. Prince Cheddward riding in on a GIANT Cheez-It dragon
2. And being served a meal as royaltyTony the Tiger Sun Bowl:
1. Players celebrating by jumping in a GIANT bowl of Frosted Flakes
2. Scoring a TD and posing on a cereal boxCOMMIT TO THE BIT! pic.twitter.com/iur8N53GRU
— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) December 31, 2025
All I’m saying is 3 of the bowls with the most fun branding (Sun, Pop-Tart, Cheez-It) have all had banger games that have lived up to the off the field hype pic.twitter.com/HENAHEzK9g
— Riley (@Ri_S_OB) December 31, 2025
BRO THEY PUT CHEEZ ITS IN THE TROPHY. This sucks pic.twitter.com/xqcP2WaE1h
— 🍊🍋Citrus Bowl Harry James🍋🍊 (@FugiFair2) December 31, 2025
Behold, a giant Cheez-It has emerged at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl pic.twitter.com/4TVhaHPavp
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 1, 2024
There will be a Cheez-It Sampling Bar at the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. pic.twitter.com/XoqdGgRIWs
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) December 30, 2025
LOL, Arch Manning out here putting Michigan to bed. pic.twitter.com/xPZwVSeJ4L
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 31, 2025
Arch Manning is playing grade-A football.
He must have been falling apart physically in September, because this version is magnitudes better. pic.twitter.com/ycvMKmALsM— Joe (@JoeA_NFL) December 31, 2025
