Florida State will return to a familiar site but play a somewhat new opponent as the Seminoles learned Sunday they'll face Michigan in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 30 in Miami Gardens, Fla.
It will be FSU's 10th appearance in the Orange Bowl and first since a 2012 win against Northern Illinois. The Seminoles are 4-5 all-time in the Orange Bowl.
This is FSU's fifth consecutive appearance either in the national title game, College Football Playoff game or a BCS/New Year's Six Game. Alabama and FSU are the only programs in the nation to achieve the feat.
In the days leading up to Sunday's announcement, several indicators were in place suggesting the Seminoles (9-3) would return to the Orange Bowl. FSU was ranked higher than Louisville (9-3) in the Amway Coaches Poll, The Associated Press Poll and ultimately the CFP rankings going into the weekend.
On Sunday, the Seminoles were ranked tenth in updated versions of both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. The Cardinals were 14th and 15 in both polls, respectively.
FSU's bowl destination was determined after the final CFP rankings were issued Sunday afternoon. The Seminoles were 11th while the Cardinals remained 13th.
Ranking FSU over Louisville generated discussion over the last few weeks. The Cardinals cruised to a 63-20 win over the Seminoles on Sept. 17 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
A head-to-head win, however, was not enough for the CFP committee to put the Cardinals ahead in the rankings. Louisville went 2-2 in November and lost consecutive games to Houston and Kentucky to end the season.
The Seminoles were 4-0 in November and finished the regular season with a comprehensive 31-13 win over in-state rival and SEC East champion Florida at Doak Campbell Stadium.
Clemson's 42-35 win over Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday secured the Tigers' place in the CFP Playoff. Clemson's win left FSU as the highest-seeded ACC team in the CFP rankings.
The Orange Bowl's tie-in places the highest-seeded, non-CFP bound ACC team against the No. 2 team from either the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame, which in this year's case, was the Wolverines.
Michigan (10-2) stormed to a 9-0 start yet suffered two losses over the final three weeks at Iowa and at Ohio State.
The Wolverines came into the weekend fifth in the CFP rankings and in need of some conference title-game chaos. It didn't happen with Alabama, Clemson and Washington - all ranked above Michigan - winning their games.
Ohio State, despite not playing in the Big Ten Championship Game, was ranked higher and saw its way into the playoff following Penn State's 38-31 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday.
With Ohio State reaching the playoff and Penn State going to the Rose Bowl, it resulted in Michigan's bowl destination being the Orange Bowl.
FSU and Michigan have played twice with the series tied at 1-1. Michigan won the first game - a 20-18 victory over FSU - in 1986 in a game played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Then-ranked No. 20 FSU lost to a No. 5 Michigan team, which was led by quarterback and current Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh.
FSU's most recent game against Michigan came in 1991, when the Seminoles were No. 1 and cruised to a 51-31 win over the No. 3 Wolverines in a game also played in Ann Arbor.
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