Peach Bowl: No. 10 Florida blows out No. 7 Michigan 41-15
Reporting from ATLANTA — Lamical Perine had a 5-yard scoring catch and 53-yard touchdown run to lead No. 10 Florida’s strong rushing attack Saturday, helping the Gators cap their comeback season with a 41-15 rout of No. 8 Michigan in the Peach Bowl.
After finishing 4-7 in 2017, Florida enjoyed a dramatic turnaround in Dan Mullen’s debut season as coach.
“To know where we were last season to where we are now is something special,†Mullen said. “To finish as a 10-win season, one of the top 10 teams in the country, that’s pretty special.â€
Florida (10-3) closed the season with four straight wins.
“I’d call this season a success. ... I don’t know many teams that’d be lining up to play us right now,†Mullen said.
Michigan (10-3) closed a promising season with two straight lopsided losses.
Feleipe Franks ran and passed for touchdowns to lead Florida’s offense. He had a 20-yard scoring run in the second quarter and finished with 74 yards rushing on 14 carries. Franks passed for 173 yards.ATLANTA (AP) — Lamical Perine had a 5-yard scoring catch and 53-yard touchdown run to lead No. 10 Florida’s strong rushing attack Saturday, helping the Gators cap their comeback season with a 41-15 rout of No. 8 Michigan in the Peach Bowl.
After finishing 4-7 in 2017, Florida enjoyed a dramatic turnaround in Dan Mullen’s debut season as coach.
“To know where we were last season to where we are now is something special,†Mullen said. “To finish as a 10-win season, one of the top 10 teams in the country, that’s pretty special.â€
Florida (10-3) closed the season with four straight wins.
“I’d call this season a success. ... I don’t know many teams that’d be lining up to play us right now,†Mullen said.
Michigan (10-3) closed a promising season with two straight lopsided losses.
Feleipe Franks ran and passed for touchdowns to lead Florida’s offense. He had a 20-yard scoring run in the second quarter and finished with 74 yards rushing on 14 carries. Franks passed for 173 yards.
Chauncey Gardner-Johnson led Florida’s defense with two interceptions, including one returned 30 yards for a touchdown with less than five minutes remaining. Gardner-Johnson’s first interception early in the second half, when Florida led only 13-10, set the tone for the Gators.
The Wolverines faced the unenviable task of having four top starters, including top rusher Karan Higdon and leading tackler Devin Bush, skip the game to focus on the NFL draft.
After giving up 567 yards in a crushing 62-39 loss to Ohio State to close the regular season, Michigan’s defense again couldn’t play up to its No. 1 ranking.
Coach Jim Harbaugh thought his players recovered from the devastating loss to Ohio State, which ended the Wolverines’ hopes for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
“I thought they were ready. ... I thought they were emotionally ready, yeah,†Harbaugh said. â€...
Harbaugh said he still considered the season to have been “very good.â€
“It would have been a great season had we won this game,†he said. “Didn’t get that done.â€
Harbaugh said he does not plan staff changes.
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