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Michigan's offense was only able to post 13 points on Saturday (two came on a safety) against a Florida defense that had been allowing 20.4 entering the contest (tied for 21st nationally).

The Wolverines drove all the way to the UF 38-yard line on their opening series, but saw sophomore fullback Ben Mason get stuffed on third-and-one and fourth-and-one attempts, which gave the ball away on downs as a result.

The Maize and Blue put their first points on the board at the 3:34 mark of the first quarter, when junior quarterback Shea Patterson found sophomore wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones in the end zone for a nine-yard score, giving Michigan a 7-3 lead at the time.

That would be the Wolverines' only touchdown of the day.

A 48-yard field goal by freshman kicker Jake Moody gave U-M a 10-6 edge at the 5:56 mark of the second quarter — Michigan's last lead of the contest — and he tacked on a 26-yarder at 12:16 of the fourth frame.

Peoples-Jones' touchdown grab and Moody's two field goals wound up being U-M's only offensive points of the afternoon.

"It was a combination of things," head coach Jim Harbaugh said afterward. "We started out not picking up the fourth-and-very-short [on the opening drive], and that really hurt our drive.

"We were moving the ball at times and close to getting into a rhythm, but we didn't get the run game going effectively enough, nor did we get the passing game or protection rolling enough.

"We got outplayed on that side of the ball. Florida did a nice job defensively."

Michigan finished with just 326 yards of offense — 249 through the air and only 77 on the ground.

Not having senior running back Karan Higdon — who chose to sit out — in the backfield certainly hurt, with his replacements unable to get anything going. Freshman Christian Turner led the team with 32 rushing yards and was the only Wolverine besides backup quarterback Joe Milton (11 yards on one rush) to average better than 3.0 yards per carry. No back had a carry longer than eight yards.

"Not having Karan — and not any knock to any other running back — hurt us," Patterson admitted. "He was our offensive leader and contributed a lot to the rushing game."

Junior Chris Evans, who started in place of Higdon, carried seven times for 20 yards, while junior Tru Wilson compiled nine yards on three carries.

U-M only averaged 2.6 yards per rush, and the team's 15 points were its fewest in a game since a 24-10 loss at Wisconsin on Nov. 18, 2017.

Michigan's top receivers — Peoples-Jones and sophomore Nico Collins, most notably — once again appeared to be the best offensive players on the field for U-M.

Peoples-Jones hauled in eight grabs for 71 yards and a score, while Collins reeled in five receptions for 80 yards, including a 41-yard gain.

These outings came one game after the two wideouts appeared to be U-M's best offensive performers at Ohio State as well, when Collins racked up 91 yards and two scores, and Peoples-Jones accumulated 64 yards.

“You see guys like Nico Collins flourishing, [redshirt freshman] Tarik Black finally coming onto the scene and Donovan Peoples-Jones going out there and making plays," Patterson said in the postgame. "It’s all about getting the guys the ball in open space, because that’s what the best teams do. They find a way to win one-on-one matchups and isolate their best players."

Senior Grant Perry, serving as a game captain in place of Higdon, also chipped in two catches for 16 yards on Saturday, while Black had two receptions for 15 yards.

The latter appeared to haul in a touchdown grab in the third quarter, but the ruling of TD on the field was overturned when it was determined he did not maintain possession all the way through.

Other positions chipped in to the production — Turner hauled in a 16-yard gain on the first catch of his college career, while redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry brought in two passes for 39 yards.

• The bowl game start for Patterson was his first-ever in the postseason.

• The 15 points were Michigan's fewest in a bowl game since a 31-14 loss to Kansas State in the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

• Freshman fullback Ben VanSumeren did not play in Saturday's contest, meaning he redshirted during the 2018 campaign, and will be a redshirt freshman next season.

He had competed in four games this year, and was the only freshman whose redshirt status was still up in the air prior to this weekend.

• Patterson finished the year with a 22-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Saturday was the first time he had thrown two picks in a single contest all year, and he ended the campaign by tossing at least one interception in each of the final three games.

• Redshirt freshman Andrew Stueber started at right tackle for the second straight game in place of injured fifth-year senior right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty, who was dealing with turf toe. It was the second start of Stueber's career.

• Peoples-Jones' TD grab was his eighth of the year, and ninth score overall (he ran a punt back for six against Nebraska on Sept. 22). Jehu Chesson is the only receiver to haul in more touchdown grabs in a season under Harbaugh at Michigan, when he reeled in nine in 2015.

• Michigan finished 10-3 for the third time in four years under Harbaugh. The last time the Wolverines won 10 or more games three times in a four-year span was 1997-99.

• Black caught two passes for 15 yards on Saturday. He had played in five games in 2018 prior to this weekend, and had only compiled two grabs for 20 yards.

• Michigan's 326 yards of offense were its second fewest this year, with the 307 against Notre Dame in the season-opener the only game where it compiled fewer. In fact, outside of those contests, the Wolverines racked up at least 376 yards in every showdown.

• Collins' 41-yard reception marked the eighth game this year when he had at least one catch of 35 yards or more.

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