(Miami- FL) “I find oranges to be very refreshing,” said Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh in his final press conference before the Capital One Orange Bowl. “Same with orange juice. Great thirst quencher, and last time I ate an orange was yesterday. I had one the day before that.”
While Harbaugh enjoys oranges, apparently Michael Jordan likes ice cream.
Harbaugh, after being asked how he kept his team sharp over a month-long layoff, said, “Enjoying the opportunity of playing the game of football. I mean, you like to do it. I love to do it. Michael Jordan said, the way he liked basketball was like eating ice cream. He wanted to do it every day.”
Alright then.
Suffice it to say the man is an entertaining quote. But today, these moments were rare. Harbaugh was all business. So, too, is his football team. After nearly beating Ohio State in the most recent edition of “The Game” - but suffering a loss that sunk their playoff hopes, it’d be easy for the Wolverines to sleepwalk into tomorrow’s game against the Florida State Seminoles, viewing it as merely a consolation prize. But, Harbaugh looks at the situation in a different light.
“Winning the Orange Bowl championship is our goal now,” he stated plainly. In regards to how he plans to get the job done, he said, “Our approach, my approach, is to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that you have during a bowl game to be with your teammates, to connect with your teammates. People talk about team bonding, they talk about team building a lot and all the different ways that you can do that. You can do that as a team, as well.”
Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher shares Harbaugh’s sentiment about cherishing the time with the team. Time is precious, and Fisher has frequently stated that a team has a “one-year lifespan”.
This particular team has been through plenty of ups and downs, fighting through early losses and injury problems. When asked how he’d reflect upon his current team, Fisher said, “I think it’ll be revered as a team that had a lot of high character, a lot of morals, and a lot of, for lack of a better word, just pure guts and grit… You play for your pride and who you are, and I think it's going to be remembered in that way. It is in my mind anyway.”
Fisher indicated that the Seminoles have rallied around the saying, “Go Higher” this season - a declaration that when things are going well, they’ll keep pushing to reach new heights.
Fisher indicated that the team began to “Go Higher” in their most recent trip to Hard Rock Stadium - where they defeated the previously undefeated Miami Hurricanes on a blocked PAT.
“See, I go all the way back to the Miami game, said Fisher. “Going on the road, and then you saw the perseverance to go and give up a late score and go have a blocked PAT to win the game. And then people don't realize the kickoff and being able to get that first down right afterwards.”
As far as his approach toward preparation is concerned, Fisher says nothing has really changed.
“The first four we won, so why would you change it when we lost the last one? We fumbled it at Oregon and last year we lost a quarterback, so we played pretty good.”
As far as what his Noles offense - which has been the most efficient in the country once it reaches the redzone, needs to do to be successful against the second-best defense in the NCAA, Fisher said with a smirk, “It comes down to one thing: You've got to execute. You've got to execute. Nothing is going to be given. At the end of the day you've got to make plays. You're going to have to make a catch over somebody, you're going to have to run through somebody, you're going to have to make some blocks because they're not going to give you anything.”
In the final hours before kickoff between these two storied programs, one can safely say that Harbaugh and Fisher are guys you wouldn’t want to encounter at the poker table. But what is clear is that they love their teams, are incredibly proud of them, and are eager to add an Orange Bowl Trophy to their trophy case.
All we can do now is wait. Anxiously.
While Harbaugh enjoys oranges, apparently Michael Jordan likes ice cream.
Harbaugh, after being asked how he kept his team sharp over a month-long layoff, said, “Enjoying the opportunity of playing the game of football. I mean, you like to do it. I love to do it. Michael Jordan said, the way he liked basketball was like eating ice cream. He wanted to do it every day.”
Alright then.
Suffice it to say the man is an entertaining quote. But today, these moments were rare. Harbaugh was all business. So, too, is his football team. After nearly beating Ohio State in the most recent edition of “The Game” - but suffering a loss that sunk their playoff hopes, it’d be easy for the Wolverines to sleepwalk into tomorrow’s game against the Florida State Seminoles, viewing it as merely a consolation prize. But, Harbaugh looks at the situation in a different light.
“Winning the Orange Bowl championship is our goal now,” he stated plainly. In regards to how he plans to get the job done, he said, “Our approach, my approach, is to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity that you have during a bowl game to be with your teammates, to connect with your teammates. People talk about team bonding, they talk about team building a lot and all the different ways that you can do that. You can do that as a team, as well.”
Florida State Head Coach Jimbo Fisher shares Harbaugh’s sentiment about cherishing the time with the team. Time is precious, and Fisher has frequently stated that a team has a “one-year lifespan”.
This particular team has been through plenty of ups and downs, fighting through early losses and injury problems. When asked how he’d reflect upon his current team, Fisher said, “I think it’ll be revered as a team that had a lot of high character, a lot of morals, and a lot of, for lack of a better word, just pure guts and grit… You play for your pride and who you are, and I think it's going to be remembered in that way. It is in my mind anyway.”
Fisher indicated that the Seminoles have rallied around the saying, “Go Higher” this season - a declaration that when things are going well, they’ll keep pushing to reach new heights.
Fisher indicated that the team began to “Go Higher” in their most recent trip to Hard Rock Stadium - where they defeated the previously undefeated Miami Hurricanes on a blocked PAT.
“See, I go all the way back to the Miami game, said Fisher. “Going on the road, and then you saw the perseverance to go and give up a late score and go have a blocked PAT to win the game. And then people don't realize the kickoff and being able to get that first down right afterwards.”
As far as his approach toward preparation is concerned, Fisher says nothing has really changed.
“The first four we won, so why would you change it when we lost the last one? We fumbled it at Oregon and last year we lost a quarterback, so we played pretty good.”
As far as what his Noles offense - which has been the most efficient in the country once it reaches the redzone, needs to do to be successful against the second-best defense in the NCAA, Fisher said with a smirk, “It comes down to one thing: You've got to execute. You've got to execute. Nothing is going to be given. At the end of the day you've got to make plays. You're going to have to make a catch over somebody, you're going to have to run through somebody, you're going to have to make some blocks because they're not going to give you anything.”
In the final hours before kickoff between these two storied programs, one can safely say that Harbaugh and Fisher are guys you wouldn’t want to encounter at the poker table. But what is clear is that they love their teams, are incredibly proud of them, and are eager to add an Orange Bowl Trophy to their trophy case.
All we can do now is wait. Anxiously.