Michigan sends Carr out with win
ORLANDO, Fla. — Lloyd Carr's players surrounded him on the sideline, started jumping up and down, waving their helmets and screaming his name.
Carr laughed through the whole thing.
It was one of the many memories he'll cherish from his final game at Michigan.
Chad Henne threw for a career-high 373 yards and three touchdowns, Mike Hart ran for 129 yards and two scores and the Wolverines upset No. 9 Florida 41-35 Tuesday in the Capital One Bowl to send Carr out a winner.
"To come up with that kind of effort and to find a way to win means that we have some memories that we're all going to be able to celebrate for years to come," Carr said.
Buoyed by the emotion of Carr's finale and unfazed by the coaching change and the firing of all but one of the assistants, the Wolverines (9-4) won their first bowl game since 2003.
This one was special.
Michigan's senior class won its first bowl game in four tries and Carr ended his coaching career on a high note.
"It was an amazing feeling for us to send him out the right way," said Henne, who completed 25 of 39 passes.
Henne, Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham torched Florida's secondary all game. Arrington caught nine passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns, and Manningham added five catches for 78 yards and a score.
The Gators (9-4) kept it close, thanks to four turnovers and plenty of big plays by Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and speedster Percy Harvin.
Playing with a broken bone in his nonthrowing hand and facing constant blitzes, Tebow was 17-of-33 for 154 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 57 yards and a score.
Harvin ran 13 times for 165 yards and a touchdown, and caught nine passes for 77 yards and a score.
It wasn't enough.
Florida failed to convert a fourth-down play at its 25 yard line, and K.C. Lopata's 41-yard field goal put Michigan ahead 41-35 with 2:21 remaining.
The Gators got another shot, but Tebow threw four straight incompletions to end any chance of a comeback.
The Wolverines dumped a bucket of ice water on Carr in the closing seconds, then players started dancing around their retiring coach.
"We couldn't ask for anything else," Hart said. "We were all happy for him. Any time we get a victory, we're always happy. But we knew it was his last game, the seniors' last game, and when we leave on top like that, it's awesome."
