Published Dec 29, 2018
Florida 13, Michigan 10: Halftime Box Score/Thoughts:
Austin Fox  •  Maize&BlueReview
Staff Writer

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Florida holds a 13-10 halftime lead over Michigan in today's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl — here's how the first two quarters unfolded.

First quarter

Today's game between Florida and Michigan started as a defensive struggle.

U-M drove to Florida's 38-yard line on its opening possession, but was stopped on downs on fourth-and-one.

UF then took over, but immediately went three-and-out.

U-M punted on its next series as well, and Florida then took over at its own 25-yard line.

The Gators put together a 10-play, 71-yard drive and capped it off with a 21-yard field goal to grab a 3-0 lead at the 5:37 mark.

The Maize and Blue answered immediately, however, when junior quarterback Shea Patterson found sophomore receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones on a nine-yard touchdown fade to give Michigan a 7-3 lead at 3:34 of the first quarter.

Second quarter

Florida strung together a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ended with its second field goal of the day, this one from 26 yards out at 12:22 to trim U-M's advantage to 7-6.

Michigan took over at its own 25-yard line hoping to extend its lead, but was forced to punt.

A huge sequence then occurred when sophomore safety J'Marick Woods blocked Florida's punt, and the Wolverines recovered at the Gator 30-yard line.

U-M had to settle for a field goal, however, when freshman Jake Moody nailed a career-long 48-yarder to give the Wolverines a 10-6 lead.

The Gators answered, though, with redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks finding the end zone from 20 yards out to give UF a 13-10 lead with 2:41 to go in the half.

Michigan drove deep into Florida territory on its final drive of the half, but Moody missed a 52-yard field goal with just six seconds left in the quarter.

Takeaways

Michigan's defense has played surprisingly poor, allowing 228 yards to the Florida offense.

U-M's rushing attack, meanwhile, has struggled without senior running back Karan Higdon, only accumulating 57 yards on the ground.

The Maize and Blue offense has failed to capitalize on several opportunities, most notably its 52-yard field goal before halftime and its inability to find the end zone after UF's blocked punt.

It'll be interesting to see what adjustments U-M makes in the second half, perhaps most notably on defense — the Gators racked up 100 yards through the air and 128 on the ground.

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