A bitter Citrus Bowl
Michigan rips UF, 41-7.
The Florida Gators had one more chance to restore some shine to what had once been a feel-good season.
Following ugly, dispiriting losses to Florida State and Alabama, coach Jim McElwain’s team looked to a showcase matchup with Michigan in Friday’s Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl to kick off the new year on a high note.
Instead, the Gators hit a new low on McElwain’s watch.
Rather than redemption, No. 14 Michigan delivered the No. 19 Gators a 41-7 beat-down before an announced crowd of 63,113 and yet another late-season reminder of how far UF’s program has to go to join the nation’s elite.
The Gators’ long, threegame skid into the offseason ended with the program’s worst loss since the 1995 Fiesta Bowl blowout loss to Nebraska.
“It was a case of getting your rump kicked in,” McElwain said. “That’s what it was. Just call it the way it is. They outphysicalled us, no doubt about it.
“Really took it to us on both sides of the ball.”
The Gators’ struggling offense — a unit responsible for one touchdown during the past two games — showed signs of life early on behind slumping sophomore quarterback Treon Harris. Eventually both came
back to earth.
UF (10-4) managed just 28 second-half yards, including two during the third quarter, as the Wolverines (10-3) stretched a 17-7 halftime led to 31-7.
The real surprise, though, was the no-show by the Gators’ vaunted defense.
On the eve of the game, the offensive-minded McElwain joked he had become a “defensive coach — and a pretty good one, too.”
McElwain picked the wrong time to take ownership of a unit that had carried the Gators all season.
Coach Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines manhandled the nation’s sixth-ranked defense up front and piled up 503 yards — the most allowed by UF since a September 2014 loss at Alabama.
“It was kind of surprising,” All-SEC cornerback Jalen Tabor said. “I feel like we have more talent than them, but when you play together. That’s what happens when one team comes together and one doesn’t.”
SEC speed could not match Big Ten physicality. The Wolverines ended the day with five scoring drives — four for touchdowns — spanning at least 69 yards and two of at least 80.
“I’d say this was the best game we played all year,” Harbaugh said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen our offense play better.”
Tabor credited the scheme of Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback and coach. The Wolverines created huge gaps in the run game and burned UF with play-action passing and double moves on their pass routes.
“His offensive system is tremendous,” Tabor said. “That’s why he [was] a head coach in the NFL.”
NFL-bound cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III was among many Gators exposed badly by Harbaugh and Co.
A three-time All-SEC selection and UF’s first unanimous All-American since 2009, Hargreaves bit on a double-move by Michigan senior Jehu Chesson. Chesson easily scored on a 31-yard touchdown — his ninth of the season — to give the Wolverines a 14-7 lead with 8:49 to in the first half.
Hargreaves, a junior who declared for the NFL draft after the SEC title game loss to Alabama, exited the game and did not return for awhile. McElwain said his absence was part of the Gators’ normal rotation at cornerback, even though Hargreaves was out until the second half.
When he did return, Chesson soon beat Hargreaves for a 45-yard catch across the middle of the field to the UF 10-yard-line.
Mental lapses across the board cost the Gators’ defense.
UF had 12 men on the field as Michigan faced third-and-two from the Gators’ 10-yard line, leading 17-7. Instead of forcing a field goal, Florida allowed a touchdown two plays later.
The Wolverines scored their next touchdown — a two-yard run by back-up fullback Sione Houma — when the Gators had 10 men on the field.
By then, the rout was on and UF was left to wonder how a 10-1 season had collapsed beneath it.
At the same time, McElwain tried to remain upbeat and realize better times were ahead for his fledgling program.
“I’m disappointed,” he said. “We’re all disappointed. But you also got to learn from disappointment, and we will. Give them credit.
“They took it to us.”