JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s been a long time since Michigan has been in this situation.

After two years of bowl-less seasons, a 15-22 record in three years and continued rides on the coaching carousel, the Wolverines are again a part of bowl season. On Saturday, Michigan will take on Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, one of many Big Ten-SEC matchups on New Year’s Day.

But one thing hasn’t changed: The Wolverines and their embattled coach Rich Rodriguez are still riding the coaching carousel.

Athletic Director Dave Brandon will make his decision on Rodriguez’s future in the coming days, and the Gator Bowl could be the Rich Rodriguez farewell tour. The players have insisted it hasn’t been a distraction, but it’ll be on everyone else’s mind as Michigan takes on the Bulldogs.

Michigan pass offense vs. Mississippi State pass defense

There’s no doubt that sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson tailed off toward the end of the year, battling a multitude of nagging injuries and tough Big Ten defenses. But Mississippi State has made it clear that their focus is to stop Robinson, first and foremost, and it could be the story of the game if they are indeed successful.

The Bulldogs are huge fans of blitzing, and that could play into Robinson’s strength, as the whole country knows how elusive the Wolverine quarterback can be. Robinson himself said he prefers being blitzed, so the Bulldog blitz-happy attack shouldn’t be too concerning.

Robinson has had a while to get his reins back on his passing game, and Mississippi State isn’t much better than Michigan in coverage. If Robinson isn’t shaken by the many blitzes, most of them probably zone blitzes — meaning mismatches downfield — then he should be able to handle the Bulldogs.

Edge: Michigan

Michigan rush offense vs. Mississippi State rush defense

This could be where the game is won on Saturday. There’s no denying that Michigan’s rush offense has been one of the best in the nation and probably the sole reason why the Wolverines are playing in a New Year’s Day bowl.

Robinson will obviously be Michigan’s most dynamic threat in the run game, but sophomore running back Vincent Smith and junior running back Mike Shaw should get quite a few opportunities. The question is, will the Wolverines’ top-flight running corps be able to pound it between the tackles against an impressive Mississippi State front seven. After all, they did hold Heisman winner Cam Newton to just 70 yards rushing.

The Bulldogs ballhawk rush defense, ranked 19th in the country, should be able to bottle up the Wolverines between the tackles without too much trouble. But they’ve given up a whole lot of big plays — which comes with the territory as a blitzing team — and Robinson will probably break loose on more than one occasion. That could be the difference.

Edge: Michigan

Mississippi State pass offense vs. Michigan pass defense

Mississippi State isn’t known as a good passing team. The Bulldogs are ranked 93rd in the country in passing yardage, and redshirt junior quarterback Chris Relf — the second-leading rusher on the team with 683 yards — does more with his legs than his arm. The already young Bulldog receivers have been depleted by injury. But even taking all those factors into account, it’s still Michigan’s secondary they're facing.

Michigan’s defense is ranked 102nd in the country, and a big part of that is due to how young the secondary is. While the underclassmen have practiced the past three weeks, Rodriguez has been saying all year it’s really tough to improve drastically in-season. Expect the same porous Michigan secondary that Wolverine fans have seen all season and for Mississippi State and Chris Relf to take advantage of it, even with all that has impeded the Bulldog passing game this season.

Edge: Mississippi State

Mississippi State rush offense vs. Michigan rush defense

Mississippi State’s strength is running the ball, and that’s what they’ll be doing on Saturday. Like Michigan, the Bulldogs’ quarterback doubles as a runner — but a much different running quarterback than Denard Robinson. Relf is more of a between-the-tackles downhill runner while Robinson is quick and elusive.