Colleges

Glory takes a hit

Gators have chances, but Michigan sends Lloyd Carr out as a winner.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
Published January 2, 2008

Florida's Tim Tebow, shown getting tackled near the goal line during the fourth quarter, was pressured throughout the game and had four straight incomplete passes to end the Gators' final drive. Photo gallery
	[Brian Cassella | Times]

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ORLANDO - Michigan coach Lloyd Carr whispered a gentle message into the ear of Florida coach Urban Meyer as the two met at midfield Tuesday evening. One day, Carr told him, you'll retire and your players will play as hard for you as mine did for me today.

This wasn't that day for Meyer and the Gators.

A year after winning a national championship, and beating out Michigan for the right to play for it, the Gators saw the end of their season ruined by the Wolverines.

On Tuesday, it was Carr, 62, who left the field victorious for the final time as his Wolverines sent him into retirement with a 41-35 victory over No. 9 Florida in front of 69,748 at the Capital One Bowl.

"It was an amazing feeling to send Coach Carr out the right way," said Michigan quarterback Chad Henne, the game's MVP. "He deserves so much."

It was a signature win for a group of Michigan seniors who had never won a bowl game. It was also a bitter end for the Gators 9-4, who were looking for consecutive 10-win seasons for the first time since 2000-01 and to head into the offseason with confidence.

"Great teams kind of feed off one another and we weren't able to do that," Meyer said. "You have to answer score for score and I really thought we'd have a chance to come back and win that thing. We just couldn't get it going."

It was also a tough ending for Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, who was 17-of-33 for 154 yards and three touchdowns but was under pressure from Michigan's defense all day and had four consecutive incomplete passes in the final drive with just more than two minutes left.

"We'll just use it as motivation to work harder and get better," said the sophomore who set the NCAA single-season record for rushing touchdowns with 23. "You definitely don't want to end the season on a losing note. It definitely does take a little of the positive out of it."

The Wolverines (9-4) took a 28-14 lead on a 1-yard run by Mike Hart with 12:50 remaining in the third quarter. Hart had 32 carries for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

"They came out ready to go, ready to fight," Tebow said. "They heard a lot about the SEC and wanted to get a piece of 'em and they did, unfortunately."

But the Gators rallied, tying the score at 28 on a 14-yard pass from Tebow to senior Andre Caldwell (who also had an 18-yard touchdown catch). The touchdown was set up by one of Hart's two fumbles inside the Gators' 5-yard line.

Florida took a 35-31 lead on a 10-yard run by Percy Harvin, but in the end, like so many times this season, Florida's defense couldn't hold. The unit that seemed to turn a corner in the regular-season finale against Florida State, reverted to its seasonlong struggles, particularly its secondary. Henne was 25-of-39 and had a career-high 373 yards and three touchdowns; and the Gators gave up passes of 18, 24, 37 and 65 yards.

"I think the correlation between lack of pressure, lack of pass rush and loose coverage killed us today," Meyer said.

"It wasn't effort at all, I can tell you that," freshman cornerback Joe Haden added. "Everybody played their hearts out, it was just (lack of) execution. We're disappointed in the way we played, but give Michigan's offense credit. They came out and played great, too."

But it wasn't just the defense that was Florida's undoing. The Gators intercepted two passes and recovered two of Michigan's four fumbles (deep in Florida territory), but couldn't convert. They also missed two field goals and were 2-of-11 on third-down conversions.

For Meyer, it's back to the drawing board. For Carr, it's the next chapter of his life. Asked how he'd like to be remembered as a Michigan man, he said simply: "That's enough. Just a Michigan man."

Little sunshine

The state of Florida has had a rough bowl season, winning only once:

New Orleans Bowl

Florida Atlantic 44, Memphis 27

Liberty Bowl

Mississippi State 10, UCF 3

Sun Bowl

Oregon 56, South Florida 21

Music City Bowl

Kentucky 35, Florida State 28

Capital One Bowl

Michigan 41, Florida 35

[Last modified January 1, 2008, 22:42:08]