FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Maybe Jim Harbaugh was still shaking out the morning cobwebs.

Or maybe a week of bowl practices and relaxation in South Florida had taken a toll on the Michigan head coach.

But roughly 20 minutes into his mundane news conference a day before No. 6 Michigan (10-2) faces No. 11 Florida State (9-3) in the Orange Bowl tonight, the question had to be asked: What are your thoughts on oranges?

“I find oranges to be very refreshing,” Harbaugh said, prompting a laugh Thursday at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel. “And same with orange juice, a great thirst quencher. Last time I ate an orange was yesterday and the day before that.”

Harbaugh is also a fan of mandarin oranges in salads, but he has never participated in an orange-eating contest. He also doesn't mind drinking orange juice after brushing his teeth.

“Yeah, if that's all you got there, then why not? It's not the go-to post tooth-brushing rinse, but ...” he said.

Harbaugh, who has taken college football by storm since taking the Michigan job in 2015, was slightly subdued Thursday, but he was enthused about his team's getting a “tremendous opportunity” to finish the season in the Orange Bowl despite being on the cusp of the College Football Playoff semifinals this season and falling short.

Jimbo Fisher was also upbeat in the same sense, excited about his team's chance to finish 2016 on a high note after losses to Louisville, North Carolina and Clemson derailed Atlantic Coast Conference and national title hopes.

“People ask us at the beginning of the year when we were 3-2, what do you have to play for?” Fisher recalled.

“Well, this is what you have to play for. Just because you lose a game here and there doesn't mean your purpose — and you always grind to be the best you can be — but things can be achieved, and that's why I'm very proud of this football team and what they've been able to accomplish.”

Michigan hopes to win its second consecutive bowl game under Harbaugh's leadership, while Florida State hopes to win its first bowl game since the 2013 national championship game.

Fisher insists losses to Oregon in the 2014 Rose Bowl and Houston in the 2015 Peach Bowl will have no bearing on his team's demeanor heading into the Orange Bowl.

“The program is in great shape and when you play in big games, you win some, you lose some,” said Fisher, who signed a contract extension last week that runs through 2022.

Fisher likened his current batch of Seminoles to the 1989 Florida State team that lost its first two games of the season, to Southern Mississippi and Clemson, but finished with a 10 consecutive wins, including a Fiesta Bowl win over Nebraska.

The Seminoles finished the season with wins in six of their last seven games, including an undefeated November featuring victories over North Carolina State, Boston College, Syracuse and Florida.

Florida State has a chance to clinch its fifth consecutive 10-win season in its fifth straight New Year's Six bowl game, a feat only Alabama has achieved in the same stretch. A win over Michigan would keep the program on its upward trajectory with a matchup against Alabama looming in the 2017 season opener.

“[I'm] just proud of them. I mean, I really am,” Fisher said of his team's determination to “go higher” with its strong finish.

“Sometimes it's because you don't win a national championship as a coach, you're very rewarded because you know these kids get it, they're understanding and they're going to be successful in life because of their perseverance and character.

“People think that's coaches' cliche stuff. That's not. That's why you're in the business.”