Saddled with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand, and the constant pressure of Michigan's defense, Tebow and Percy Harvin couldn't give Florida enough firepower

Tebow answered with his 23rd rushing touchdown of the year, extending his record streak to 14 games with at least one passing and one rushing touchdown. Tebow also became the all-time single-season rushing touchdown leader by an NCAA quarterback on the play, separating himself from Air Force signal caller Chance Harridge (2002).

, Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham torched Florida’s secondary all game. Arrington caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Manningham added five catches for 78 yards and a score.

The Gators (9-4) kept it close thanks to four turnovers and plenty of big plays by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and speedster Percy Harvin.

Playing with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and facing constant blitzes, Tebow was 17-of-33 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and a score.

Harvin ran 13 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, and caught nine passes for 77 yards and a score.

It wasn’t enough.

Despite nearly 250 yards of total offense from sophomore wide receiver Percy Harvin (Virginia Beach, Va.), the 12th-ranked University of Florida football team fell to Michigan, 41-35, at the Capital One Bowl on Tuesday at the Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium.

Orlando, FL

The Gators rallied from a 14-point deficit to tie the score at 28-28 in the latter stages of the third period, but a pair of late scores by Michigan prevented UF from winning its third-straight bowl game.

Sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow (Jacksonville, Fla.) accounted for four touchdowns, including three through the air, and set the single-season NCAA record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with his 23rd, a one-yard plunge, in the third quarter. Harvin ran for a career-high 165 yards and a score, setting a Capital One Bowl record for rushing average with a mark of 12.7 per carry, and caught a game-high nine passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. The effort marked the second game of his career in which he recorded a touchdown both on the ground and through the air.

Senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell (Tampa, Fla.) was on the receiving end of two of Tebow’s scoring tosses, and finished the day with four catches for 40 yards.

The Gators’ defense forced a season-high four turnovers on the afternoon, while also converting a critical fake punt situation in the third quarter that led to a UF touchdown. Freshman defensive linemen Mike Pouncey (Lakeland, Fla.) and freshman safety Major Wright (Miramar, Fla.) recorded interceptions for Florida, while junior defensive end Derrick Harvey (Greenbelt, Md.) led the charge up front with a pair of sacks that brought his season total to a team-best 8.5 for the year.

Florida’s fake punt, on which freshman punter Chas Henry (Dallas, Ga.) connected with freshman tight end Aaron Hernandez (Bristol, Conn.) for 15 yards and a new set of downs, was its first of the year. In three years under head coach Urban Meyer, UF has converted each of its five fake punts.

The Gators and Wolverines exchanged the lead four times and combined for 76 points to tie for the third-highest scoring game in Capital One Bowl history.

Michigan got on the board first when quarterback Chad Henne orchestrated a 12-play, 93-yard drive that resulted in a 21-yard scoring connection with wide receiver Mario Manningham for the early 7-0 lead.

Tebow tied the game late in the first quarter with his 30th touchdown pass of the year, finding Harvin crossing in the middle of the end zone for a 10-yard strike. The scoring reception was Harvin’s fourth of the year.

Tebow hooked up with Caldwell to give UF its first lead of the contest after the quarter change. Caldwell received the ball on a screen play and took advantage of the Gators’ perimeter blocking, racing 18 yards into the end zone, and represented the 14th-consecutive time Florida has scored while in the red zone, dating back to the South Carolina game.

Michigan running back Mike Hart evened the score at 14 with 9:51 remaining in the first half, a one-yard plunge to capitalize on a 13-play drive.

Harvin exploded through left side of the Michigan defense, racing down the sideline untouched for a 66-yard run on the first play of Florida’s next drive. The run was the second-longest of Harvin’s career, one yard shy of his personal-best 67-yard touchdown carry against Arkansas in the 2006 SEC Championship game.

Following a blocked field-goal attempt, Michigan’s offense took over as Henne reversed the field in a five wideout bunch-right formation on a screen-play to tight end Carson Butler for a 65-yard gain deep into UF field position. The drive would end there when Florida regained momentum on the ensuing play as freshman defensive tackle Justin Trattou (Ramsey, N.J.) forced a Hart fumble and was recovered by sophomore linebacker Brandon Spikes (Shelby, N.C.) near the goal line.

Wright intercepted a Henne pass deep in his own territory at the 4:08 mark of the second quarter to record the first pick of his UF career.

Arrington got free on a slant route for a 23-yard gain to set up his own one-yard touchdown reception two plays later as Michigan regained the lead, 21-14, with eight seconds left in the first half.

Michigan recovered an onside kick to open the second half and marched down the field for Hart’s second score of the game, a one-yard scamper that put the Wolverines up by a count of 28-14.

Tebow answered with his 23rd rushing touchdown of the year, extending his record streak to 14 games with at least one passing and one rushing touchdown. Tebow also became the all-time single-season rushing touchdown leader by an NCAA quarterback on the play, separating himself from Air Force signal caller Chance Harridge (2002).

Florida’s defense again halted a Michigan drive in the red zone on the next series as Wright knocked the ball loose from Hart and finished the play with the recovery. Henry and Hernandez hooked up on the fake punt to keep the ensuing drive alive, and Tebow threw his third touchdown of the game, finding Caldwell for a 14-yard scoring strike to even the score.

On UM’s next possession, defensive end Jermaine Cunningham (Stone Mountain, Ga.) tipped a Henne pass at the line of scrimmage that landed in Pouncey’s arms to give Florida the ball deep in opponent territory. Harvin converted the UM turnover into a touchdown on an end around for a 10-yard score, helping UF reclaim the lead, 35-31.

Michigan answered with a Henne touchdown pass to Arrington to regain the lead, 38-35, and salted the game away with a 41-yard field goal with 2:21 left on the clock.

Florida is now 16-19 all-time in bowl games, and is now 6-4 in the postseason against teams from the Big Ten Conference. Tuesday’s game was UF’s 14th January bowl game in the last 15 years.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was doused with water, surrounded by dancing players and then carried onto the field.

He went out a winner.

Chad Henne threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Hart ran for 129 yards and two scores and the Wolverines upset No. 9 Florida 41-35 Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl to win their first bowl game since 2003.

This one was special.

Michigan’s senior class won its first bowl game in four tries and Carr ended his coaching career on a high note.

“It’s extremely meaningful on a personal level,” Carr said. “But the reason it’s meaningful is because I can be in that locker room with the guys that did it. Our coaches put together a great game plan, our players executed. Of course, we were big so-called underdogs.

“To come up with that kind of effort and to find a way to win means that we have some memories that we’re all going to be able to celebrate for years to come.”

Henne, Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham torched Florida’s secondary all game. Arrington caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Manningham added five catches for 78 yards and a score.

The Gators (9-4) kept it close thanks to four turnovers and plenty of big plays by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and speedster Percy Harvin.

Playing with a broken bone in his non-throwing hand and facing constant blitzes, Tebow was 17-of-33 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and a score.

Harvin ran 13 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, and caught nine passes for 77 yards and a score.

It wasn’t enough.

Florida failed to convert a fourth-down play at its 25 yard line, and K.C. Lopata’s 41-yard field goal put Michigan (9-4) ahead 41-35 with 2:21 remaining.

The Gators got another shot, but Tebow threw four straight incompletions to end any chance of a comeback.

“You definitely don’t want to end the season on a losing note, so it definitely does take a little bit of the positive out of (the season),” Tebow said.

The Wolverines dumped a bucket of ice water on Carr in the closing seconds, then players started jumping up and down and dancing around their retiring coach.

They also carried him to midfield for the postgame handshake and interviews. His players dropped him off and headed straight to the Michigan section for a raucous celebration — one they haven’t had after a bowl game since beating Florida in the Outback Bowl.

Carr announced his retirement Nov. 19, two days after another loss to Ohio State. Michigan hired Rich Rodriguez to replace him, and Rodriguez watched part of the game from the sideline and part from a private box, trying not to be a distraction.

He wasn’t for the players, who vowed to send Carr out with a victory.

“It was an amazing feeling for us to send him out the right way,” said Henne, who completed 25 of 39 passes. “He deserves so much and we really played our hearts out and put everything out on the field and let him go out the right way.”

When linebacker Shawn Crable was quoted as saying Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was just another quarterback in the days leading up to Tuesday's Capital One Bowl between the University of Michigan and No. 9-ranked Florida, fans worried the Wolverines' linebacker had just poked a sleeping giant with a stick.

Tebow is after all ... well ... Tebow, the first player in college football history to run for 20 touchdowns and throw for 20 touchdowns in the same season, the first sophomore to win the Heisman, the guy quarterback guru Steve Spurrier calls the prototype quarterback of the future.

The future, however, was not Tuesday.

Tuesday, thanks in large part to an effort spearheaded by Crable and senior safety Jamar Adams, Tim Tebow was, yes, just another quarterback as Michigan held him in check en route to a 41-35 upset.

The sophomore rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries, a 3.6 yard average, albeit with a touchdown. On Florida's final two offensive possessions, with the Gators desperately trying to rally for the comeback, he was constantly harassed by Michigan's pass rush, twice failing to manage a first down, the final failure sealing Michigan's win.

And then it was Crable's turn to REALLY do some talking.

"For us, it was an insult for them to think they could bring a quarterback in and run power schemes with a quarterback." the linebacker said after racking up six tackles, two for loss, and forcing Tebow into two quarterback hurries. "I mean, we face that all the time. And you're going to put some quarterback in there and run power plays on us? We were really set and determined to shut him down and shut (Percy) Harvin down. Harvin had a good day, but we did do some things to frustrate Tebow."

Tebow, who finished with a season-low 154 passing yards and three touchdowns against no interceptions, waved off suggestions by a Florida writer that Michigan's defense physically punished him more than anyone else this year.

Hard and physical, the quarterback said, but no different from what he has experienced all year.

Florida coach Urban Meyer was more complimentary.

"I'll give them credit, they had two blitzes that we had not seen them do," Meyer said. "They pressured Tim. I'm not sure we protected as well as we have in the past."

Adams, who predicted before the game that Michigan's defense would play its best game of the season, credited defensive coordinator Ron English for staying focused on the Gators despite knowing he'd be moving on after the game because he'd not been retained by new coach Rich Rodriguez.

The senior safety deserved a little credit himself, though, as Adams finished with the Wolverines' only sack, several more quarterback hurries, a team-high nine tackles and an immeasurable amount of satisfaction.

"Man, coach English, he called a great game plan," Adams said. "It's a testament to the coaches' character. They could have went up at the hotel, been up there at Disneyworld with their families, they were working hard, putting together a great game plan and we just executed it to the fullest.Â

"Everybody talked about us, said we were garbage ... we had no defense and we come out here and won the ball game. We just did what we had to do. ... This is the perfect victory."

Read more from Jim Carty at blog.mlive.com/jim_carty. He can be reached at 734-994-6815 or jcarty@annarbornews.com.

COMMENTS (7)Post a comment

Posted by SoCalTony on 01/02/08 at 11:54AM

This is the perfect victory!

Tebow will be seeing winged helmets in his sleep for weeks !

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Posted by mgobluenut on 01/02/08 at 1:38PM

Bet Tebow wishes he would've went to Michigan now, back when he considered it before settling on Florida! He'll have to settle for the muzzled Alligator chop for now!

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Posted by mgobluenut on 01/02/08 at 2:19PM

Oh yah by the way, with 7:56 left in the third after Tebow scored his rushing TD, did anybody else see him (Tebow) make kick at a Michigan defensive player who was laying on the ground in the end zone? Looked to me he was gonna kick the the guy and midway through his kick, he remembered where he was at, thought better of it and pulled up short! I found this waaaay out of character for Tebow and maybe I didn't see what I thought I saw but the ESPN highlights keep telling me different. Geeked up in the heat of battle, probably, no harm no foul!

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Posted by tulsatom on 01/02/08 at 4:30PM

The defense still gave up 35 points, which isn't that great. However, Florida averages over 40+ points a game, so we need to put it in perspective. I thought the best part was all the blitz schemes that U-M used on Florida and how they stuffed the Gators the last two times they had the ball. That was priceless.

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Posted by weatherdoc on 01/02/08 at 6:21PM

Tebow wasn't the only one to be exposed as a mortal. So, too, was Percy Harvin. [And, sadly, Mike Hart.] Percy played high school football about 3 miles from my house and I followed his career. Several sports and media outfits named him the best high school player in the country when he was a senior 2 years ago. He may be the reason Tebow doesn't get 2 Heisman trophies.

Here in SE Virginia, we got heckled all season by the many Penn State grads and Ohio natives in the area (I've never personally met an OSU grad). I will, of course, cheer on every Big Ten team playing in a bowl game. A few days before the Florida game, when I hung my UM flag on my garage door, I also hung a 4-foot banner that read, "It could happen, you know!" I'm going to leave it until the next heavy rain. (We don't get heavy snow here - do you? HA!)

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Posted by taterrific on 01/02/08 at 10:25PM

Everybody on the field is a mortal. As for "exposing" Percy Harvin, he gained 165 yards in 13 rushes for a 12.7 yard average and caught 9 passes for 77 yards. You can say a lot of people on Florida's team underachieved, but Percy Harvin, with a total of 242 yards on offense, wasn't one of them.

I posted a week or so ago that the only way Michigan could win this game was if Lloyd Carr showed up with more imagination than he has shown the last ten years and Tim Tebow showed up with a Heisman hangover. Both of these happened, sorta.

The entire Florida team showed an utter lack of respect for Michigan when they stomped on the logo before the game even started. They obviously didn't take Michigan too seriously. As for Carr, he did show more imagination than he has in his entire career against Florida. I am ecstatic about this, but it does make me wonder just where in the bleep this version of Carr has been for the last ten years.

Carr's performance, especially the last four years, has been a colossal waste of too many talented football players. Just for today, though, I will post words that I thought I would never, ever post:

Lloyd Carr outcoached Urban Meyer.

For three hours, Lloyd Carr outcoached probably the best coach in contemporary college football. And he got to go out a winner. What a great end to such a wasted year

ORLANDO, FLA. - When linebacker Shawn Crable was quoted as saying Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow was just another quarterback in the days leading up to Tuesday's Capital One Bowl between the University of Michigan and No. 9-ranked Florida, fans worried the Wolverines' linebacker had just poked a sleeping giant with a stick.

Tebow is after all ... well ... Tebow, the first player in college football history to run for 20 touchdowns and throw for 20 touchdowns in the same season, the first sophomore to win the Heisman, the guy quarterback guru Steve Spurrier calls the prototype quarterback of the future.

The future, however, was not Tuesday.

Tuesday, thanks in large part to an effort spearheaded by Crable and senior safety Jamar Adams, Tim Tebow was, yes, just another quarterback as Michigan held him in check en route to a 41-35 upset.

The sophomore rushed for 57 yards on 16 carries, a 3.6 yard average, albeit with a touchdown. On Florida's final two offensive possessions, with the Gators desperately trying to rally for the comeback, he was constantly harassed by Michigan's pass rush, twice failing to manage a first down, the final failure sealing Michigan's win.

And then it was Crable's turn to REALLY do some talking.

"For us, it was an insult for them to think they could bring a quarterback in and run power schemes with a quarterback." the linebacker said after racking up six tackles, two for loss, and forcing Tebow into two quarterback hurries. "I mean, we face that all the time. And you're going to put some quarterback in there and run power plays on us? We were really set and determined to shut him down and shut (Percy) Harvin down. Harvin had a good day, but we did do some things to frustrate Tebow."

Tebow, who finished with a season-low 154 passing yards and three touchdowns against no interceptions, waved off suggestions by a Florida writer that Michigan's defense physically punished him more than anyone else this year.

Hard and physical, the quarterback said, but no different from what he has experienced all year.

Florida coach Urban Meyer was more complimentary.

"I'll give them credit, they had two blitzes that we had not seen them do," Meyer said. "They pressured Tim. I'm not sure we protected as well as we have in the past."

Adams, who predicted before the game that Michigan's defense would play its best game of the season, credited defensive coordinator Ron English for staying focused on the Gators despite knowing he'd be moving on after the game because he'd not been retained by new coach Rich Rodriguez.

The senior safety deserved a little credit himself, though, as Adams finished with the Wolverines' only sack, several more quarterback hurries, a team-high nine tackles and an immeasurable amount of satisfaction.

"Man, coach English, he called a great game plan," Adams said. "It's a testament to the coaches' character. They could have went up at the hotel, been up there at Disneyworld with their families, they were working hard, putting together a great game plan and we just executed it to the fullest.Â

"Everybody talked about us, said we were garbage ... we had no defense and we come out here and won the ball game. We just did what we had to do. ... This is the perfect victory."