Fine Florida season capped with a rout of Michigan

PEACH BOWL NO. 10 FLORIDA 41, NO. 7 MICHIGAN 15

ATLANTA — Florida capped its big comeback season — and left Michigan reeling again.

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 affirm their return to relevance with a 41-15 rout of No. 7 Michigan in the Peach Bowl.

After finishing 4-7 in 2017, Florida enjoyed a dramatic turnaround in Dan Mullen’s first season as coach.

The victory put Florida (10-3) in position to enter next season as a Top 10 team.

“In year one, to come here and to know where we were this time a year ago to where we are today, it’s special to me,” Mullen said. “… To finish as a 10-win season, one of the Top 10 teams in the country, that’s pretty special.”

Florida (10-3) closed the season with four consecutive victories.

“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 consecutive lopsided losses.

Feleipe Franks ran and passed for touchdowns to lead Florida’s offense.

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.

BELK BOWL VIRGINIA 28, SOUTH CAROLINA 0

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryce Perkins threw three touchdown passes to Olamide Zaccheaus, Virginia’s defense dominated and the Cavaliers beat South Carolina in the Belk Bowl for their first bowl victory since 2005.

Perkins completed 22 of 31 passes for 208 yards and ran for 81 yards as the Cavaliers (85) ended the ACC’s longest bowl drought. Zaccheaus, named the game’s Most Outstanding Player, had 12 catches for 100 yards. Jordan Ellis ran for 106 yards and a touchdown, helping Virginia hold the ball for more than 42 minutes.

The Gamecocks were shut out for the first time since 2006, when they lost 18-0 to Georgia.

The Cavaliers’ 14th-ranked pass defense put the clamps on a hot South Carolina offense that had averaged 38.2 points per game over the past five games. Jake Bentley had thrown for 16 touchdowns during that span, but he struggled without wide receiver Deebo Samuel, who elected to bypass the bowl game to begin preparing for the NFL draft.

Bentley was limited to 218 yards on 17-of39 passing and was intercepted twice. South Carolina was 2 of 13 on third down conversions and 2 of 5 on fourth downs.