Florida chomps undermanned Michigan to win Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
By John Buhler
10 wins mean different things for two college football blue-bloods, as the Florida Gators crush the Michigan Wolverines in the 2018 Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.
It was a tale of two different seasons for a pair of major college football programs. One had lofty expectations for 2018, while the other was in the process of re-inventing itself after a disastrous campaign the year prior. Colliding days before the new year in Atlanta saw the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines take on the No. 10 Florida Gators in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.
While we wanted a competitive game, we instead got a blowout, as the Gators chomped the undermanned Wolverines to bits in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the college football world to see. The Gators won 41-15 to improve to 10-3 on the year, while the Wolverines possibly squandered a top-10 finish on the year to fall to 10-3.
Sure, this might have been one of the more underwhelming bowls of the New Year’s Six slate. That being said, it was about as revealing of a game you could have hoped for entering the offseason.
Simply put, Florida has massively overachieved under new head coach Dan Mullen and should be a top-10 team again next year. As for Michigan, it’s another year of great disappointment, as Jim Harbaugh continues to not win big games leading his alma mater’s program.
In these bowl games, it really comes down to which team wants to be there more. For Florida, getting to Atlanta and playing in The Benz is a huge deal. Normally, it means the Gators have won the SEC East and would be theoretically playing for a College Football Playoff berth. As for Michigan, playing in Atlanta just means the Wolverines didn’t beat the arch rival Ohio State Buckeyes and failed to reach Indianapolis yet again.
Of course, Michigan had several key players opt to not play in the Peach Bowl so that they could get ready for the 2019 NFL Draft. While quarterback Shea Patterson said he’d return for his senior season in Ann Arbor, guys like defensive tackle Rashan Gary and running back Karan Higdon decided to punt on a New Year’s Six bowl.
Harbaugh probably wishes they would have played, as Florida controlled pretty much the entire ball game, especially in the second half. Patterson was seemingly under pressure all afternoon, as Todd Grantham’s Florida defense held the Michigan offense to 326 total yards and just 15 points.
In Mullen’s first year back in Gainesville, the Gators more than doubled their win total. They went from four to 10 and captured a dominating win over a Big Ten blue-blood in the Peach Bowl.
While he may never become the recruiter that Gator Nation will want him to be, the Florida fan base can rest assured that its new head ball coach will get the most out of its talent. He did it with Mississippi State and he’ll certainly do it Gainesville.
As for Harbaugh, his latest loss to a ranked team will do anything but silence his critics. In his four years after leaving the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, Michigan has yet to beat Ohio State or win its division.
A win over a rebounding Florida team during the holiday season would have been a nice consolation prize for another Michigan team that didn’t get it done. Instead, he and his senior quarterback Patterson will be scrutinized all offseason. Even with Ohio State changing head coaches with Urban Meyer’s retirement, all this does is put more of a spotlight on Harbaugh’s Michigan program.
What this game largely told us that these two teams are among the best in their respective conferences. While Florida could conceivably challenge the Georgia Bulldogs next year, what did Saturday’s effort by the Wolverines do to convince anybody they won’t drop their 2019 date with Ohio State?
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These two teams finished with the same record. What is different is that 10 wins means nothing but optimism for Florida entering 2019. For the Wolverines, 10 wins means nothing but blown opportunities for Michigan as the calendar turns over. Perception is reality with these two football teams, as the SEC once again asserted its dominance over the Big Ten.