Of course. I don't buy the "didn't show up" stuff. Never have and never will. These kids want to win. If they didn't, they wouldn't play football or any other participate in any competitive activity. The idea that you can't get up for a bowl game against a respectable opponent it ludicrous.
You don't have to believe it for it to be true.
I'll start by saying everything matters. Every little thing plays into influencing how these KIDS play.
Their grades situation, their girlfriend situation, their home situation, what they did last night with their friends, their relationship with the HC, position coach, between teammates, etc....and I think you'd agree with all of that.
You've also cited in the past that you can't fathom not being able to "get up" for 12 measly games. Yes, to us, the fans, it's 12 games (or 13 or 14 or whatever - a small number), but to these players, it's a grind. Practices, film study, staying eligible - it wears on them. Yes, a great HC will keep things fresh and mix it up and not let the season seem like a marathon. From August to January, it's football everyday. But set that aside.
So you're in this grind and things are going great and you're on the cusp of something special. Something your entire home town will celebrate, something that will make your family proud of you forever, something the school will promote long after you're gone...but then you lose. All of that is gone. The uniqueness of your season - your potential eternal notoriety is gone. Just like that. And now you have this additional game. A game that will win you back none of what had previously been on the table. A game that you have to travel to...maybe you don't want that additional, NOW (comparatively) meaningless game to be an away game. Maybe the hoopla the week leading up to the game was fun and you got some swag, but none of it injects any of the importance into the bowl game that your last game had.
When a player is playing in a football game, he's trying. He wants to do his job and whip the guy in front of him and be better than him. But that internal motivating fire is not there, in the instances of Michigan and Georgia. Call it a human flaw, but stop saying it's not a thing. It so obviously is. So whether the players are more chill on the sideline, having conversations and enjoying a cup of Gatorade rather than being fire-and-brimstone with their position groups or whatever else that lack of fire does to their performance, it's a thing.
Who you play matters, just as we agreed up top, that everything matters. But more than that, who you play matters in comparison to who you are. A bowl date with 9-3 Penn State in Tampa is big-time if I'm somebody like an 8-4 Iowa State or 9-3 Syracuse...but if I'm 10-2 Alabama or 11-1 Texas, it's a letdown. A bowl matchup needs to be on your level or above your level to feel sexy and get the juices flowing (in that one aspect of many). No, Penn State probably wasn't stoked to face Kentucky - not sexy. Yes, UCF was probably up to play LSU and LSU probably bummed that they were paired up with UCF. It's not fair, but it's true.
Michigan AND Florida fans would've liked some variety this bowl season, but neither got it. So what transpired from the pairing? Both sides groaning about playing each other again. One side had the motivation of revenge. The other side had players sitting out. One side, with the newer coach, loved the opportunity to "get back" where the program wanted to be. The other side had playoff aspirations and were now playing a 9-3 team that they beat last year. From primetime with all eyes watching to a noon kickoff.
And I've never said any of this guarantees a loss from the unmotivated team, just that they tend to lose and have this built-in REASON (not excuse) for doing so. This dissension you keep sharing is starting to look religious - blind faith in the face of mounting evidence against it.