2008 Capital One Bowl

The 2008 Capital One Bowl was held on January 1, 2008 at the Florida Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The game featured the University of Michigan Wolverines—who finished the 2007 season tied for second in the Big Ten Conference with an overall record of 8–4 (6–2 in the Big Ten)—and the #12 University of Florida Gators—who finished the 2007 season third in the Southeastern Conference's East Division with an overall record of 9–3 (5–3 in the SEC).

2008 Capital One Bowl
Michigan Wolverines Florida Gators
(8–4) (9–3)
Big Ten SEC
41 35
Head coach: 
Lloyd Carr		 Head coach: 
Urban Meyer
AP
NR
APCoachesBCS
91212
1234 Total
Michigan 714713 41
Florida 77147 35
DateJanuary 1, 2008
Season2007
StadiumFlorida Citrus Bowl
LocationOrlando, Florida
MVPChad Henne (Michigan QB)
FavoriteFlorida by 10½[1]
Halftime showBoth school bands
Attendance69,748
PayoutUS$4.25 million per team[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersMike Patrick (play-by-play)
Todd Blackledge (analyst)
Holly Rowe (sideline)
Nielsen ratings9.13[3]

Pre-game buildup

This game was significant for several different reasons. It was the last game for the Michigan Wolverines' coach, Lloyd Carr, who had announced his retirement on November 19, 2007. During the game, Carr used a passing spread offense to attack on the first drive against Florida's defense. The game was also the last game for the Michigan senior class, who had lost each of their previous three bowl games. It was also an opportunity for Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and the Florida Gators to play in front of a crowd of mostly Gator fans, as Orlando and Gainesville are separated by less than a two-hour drive.

Coming into this game, Florida was highly favored to win. As Michigan had lost early in the season to Appalachian State and Oregon, teams who both employed a spread offense similar to Florida's, many predicted that Michigan would suffer a similar fate against Florida. However, the Wolverines were able to generate 524 yards of offense in defeating the Gators, turning the ball over four times, twice within one yard of scoring.

This game was a bit of a grudge match because Florida coach, Urban Meyer had lobbied for his team to get into the BCS National Championship game over Michigan during the 2006 season.[4] Ultimately, Meyer's lobbying was successful and Florida went on to defeat Michigan's hated rivals Ohio State, 41–14, in the BCS National Championship Game. Previously, Michigan and Florida met four years earlier in the 2003 Outback Bowl, with Michigan defeating Florida, 38–30. Florida's loss makes them the second defending BCS Champion to lose a non-BCS bowl game a year later, the first being Florida's SEC rivals the LSU Tigers in the 2005 edition of this bowl game against the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Game summary

Michigan started the game at their own 6-yard line and put together a 94-yard opening drive. Michigan quarterback Chad Henne connected on a 21-yard pass to Mario Manningham to put Michigan up 7–0. Over the course of the game, Michigan turned the ball over four times (two fumbles and two interceptions), which resulted in two Florida touchdown drives. These two touchdowns eventually put the Gators ahead 35–31 with just under six minutes to play. The Wolverines regained the lead when Adrian Arrington caught a touchdown pass to make the score 38–35 in favor of Michigan. Florida got the ball back but could not convert on fourth down from their own 25-yard line. Michigan ran three straight plays that resulted in a K.C. Lopata field goal to make the score 41–35 with 2:20 remaining. On Florida's last possession, quarterback Tim Tebow failed to complete a pass on four consecutive downs. After knocking down Tebow's final pass, Michigan ran out the clock to clinch the win, 41–35. Chad Henne was named the game's MVP.

Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP MICH FLA
1 10:59 11 94 4:01 MICH Mario Manningham 21-yard touchdown reception from Chad Henne, K. C. Lopata kick good 7 0
1 2:37 7 59 3:04 FLA Percy Harvin 10-yard touchdown reception from Tim Tebow, Joey Ijjas kick good 7 7
2 14:48 3 29 0:56 FLA Andre Caldwell 18-yard touchdown reception from Tim Tebow, Joey Ijjas kick good 7 14
2 9:51 12 56 4:57 MICH Mike Hart 3-yard touchdown run, K. C. Lopata kick good 14 14
2 0:08 11 62 2:31 MICH Adrian Arrington 1-yard touchdown reception from Chad Henne, K. C. Lopata kick good 21 14
3 12:50 7 37 2:10 MICH Mike Hart 1-yard touchdown run, K. C. Lopata kick good 28 14
3 7:55 10 56 4:55 FLA Tim Tebow 1-yard touchdown run, Joey Ijjas kick good 28 21
3 1:26 8 80 3:11 FLA Andre Caldwell 14-yard touchdown reception from Tim Tebow, Joey Ijjas kick good 28 28
4 12:16 10 50 4:10 MICH 37-yard field goal by K. C. Lopata 31 28
4 5:49 5 34 2:30 FLA Percy Harvin 10-yard touchdown run, Joey Ijjas kick good 31 35
4 4:12 4 67 1:37 MICH Adrian Arrington 18-yard touchdown reception from Chad Henne, K. C. Lopata kick good 38 35
4 2:21 4 0 0:21 MICH 41-yard field goal by K. C. Lopata 41 35
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 41 35

Game statistics
Team statistics
MichiganFlorida
1st Downs2828
Total Yards524399
Passing Yards373169
Rushing Yards151230
Penalties8-659-49
3rd Down Conversions10-152-11
4th Down Conversions0-02-4
Turnovers40
Time of Possession32:1827:42

Individual statistics
Michigan passing
C/ATT* Yds TD INT
Chad Henne 25/39 373 3 2
Michigan rushing
Cara Yds TD LGb
Mike Hart 32 129 2 23
Mario Manningham 7 53 0 23
Brandon Minor 1 -2 0 0
Team 3 -5 0 0
Chad Henne 4 24 0 0
Michigan receiving
Recc Yds TD LGb
Adrian Arrington 9 153 2 37
Mario Manningham 5 78 1 24
Carson Butler 1 65 0 65
Greg Mathews 7 62 0 18
Mike Hart 1 7 0 7
Junior Hemingway 1 4 0 4
Mark Moundros 1 4 0 4

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLong play cReceptions

Florida passing
C/ATT* Yds TD INT
Tim Tebow 17/33 154 3 0
Chas Henry 1/1 15 0 0
Florida rushing
Cara Yds TD LGb
Percy Harvin 13 165 1 66
Tim Tebow 16 57 1 19
Kestahn Moore 2 9 0 7
Team 1 -1 0 0
Florida receiving
Recc Yds TD LGb
Percy Harvin 9 77 1 20
Andre Caldwell 2 40 2 18
Aaron Hernandez 3 31 0 15
Cornelius Ingram 1 17 0 17
Louis Murphy 1 4 0 4

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLong play cReceptions

[5]

References
  1. World Features Syndicate via Long Beach Press-Telegram, Dec. 28, 2007
  2. NCAA Football.com 2007-8 Bowl Schedules Archived August 3, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Heuser, John (2008-01-15). "Capital One Bowl a hit on TV". mlive.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
  4. http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/112006/col_6345600.shtml
  5. ESPN.com Capital One Bowl Box Score
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