What They're Saying About Michigan Wolverines Football After Florida Loss
A look around the internet at what they're saying after Michigan's loss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to Florida.
John Borton, The Wolverine.com: Wolverine Watch: Good To Great Will Be Tough
Jim Harbaugh built a good football program in Ann Arbor over the course of four years. It remains well short of a great one, and deep down, he knows it.
Given the historical backdrop in Ann Arbor for what Bob Ufer described as "man’s inhumanity to man," good isn’t good enough. Everybody knows that.
The Wolverines are beginning to make a habit of ending seasons by losing to Ohio State and then dropping a bowl game, sometimes in embarrassing fashion. Embarrassing, in this case, involves an 0-2 finish by a combined score of 103-54.
That’s sobering, no matter who leaves the stage early.
To be fair, the Michigan squad taking the field in the 41-15 rotten-fruit peppering in the Peach Bowl bore little resemblance to the Wolverines that went 10-2 in the regular season. The heart and soul of their defense, junior captain linebacker Devin Bush Jr., watched from afar, an extra early exit for the NFL. Junior defensive end Rashan Gary sat it out as well, making in-game injuries to redshirt sophomore linebacker Devin Gil and sophomore defensive lineman Kwity Paye hurt that much worse.
On offense, 1,000-yard rusher and senior captain Karan Higdon kept his legs safe for the NFL, and U-M responded with 77 yards on the ground against the Gators. Fifth-year senior right tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty also didn’t play, although he’d gotten nicked up earlier, like Bush.
It might not have mattered, the way Florida racked up big plays on both sides of the ball in a second-half deconstruction of Michigan’s ill-fated postseason. But it sure didn’t help.
Chris Balas, The Wolverine.com: Michigan Football: Florida 41, U-M 15 — Notes, Quotes & Observations
Florida back Lamical Perine’s third-and-20 touchdown run for 53 yards early in the fourth quarter put the rotten tomato on top of Michigan’s latest stinker on the big stage … one we probably should have seen coming.
For weeks, folks were explaining Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl as a "meaningless game" in supporting the decisions of four starters (and two captains) to sit to help protect their NFL careers.
On the other side, Florida came into this one having lost four straight to the Wolverines, wanting to continue to create positive momentum with a first-year head coach — the exact role reversal from four years ago when these two teams met at the Citrus Bowl. That's when Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh was the new kid in town and intent on making sure people knew his program was on the ascent, backing it up with a 41-7 win.
The intangibles were on the Gators’ side. Michigan fans returned a decent portion of their tickets, and Florida fans snapped them up. The U-M players toed the company line in promising they cared about winning 11 games and going out with a bang, and some played their butts off.
Others folded or ran out of gas when the wheels came off in the second quarter, and a few were in over their heads. Right tackle was an issue the last two games in fifth-year senior Juwann Bushell-Beatty’s absence, and when sophomore end Kwity Paye and redshirt sophomore middle linebacker Devin Gil went down — two areas U-M could least afford it with Rashan Gary and Devin Bush choosing to sit — viper Jordan Glasgow was actually forced to play middle linebacker.
Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News: Wolverines flattened again, and Harbaugh must adjust
Another big game, more of the same. Their offense was flattened. Their defense was shredded. And it’s clear now for Michigan: The more it looks the same, the more urgently it must change.
This was a study in motivation, and the Wolverines failed miserably, trampled by Florida 41-15 in the Peach Bowl. With two straight blowout losses to end the season, it now becomes a larger motivation for Jim Harbaugh, who must solve the big-game, late-season woes.
Some obvious things were missing Saturday for Michigan — creativity on offense, discipline on defense, emotional spark. Oh, and four starters who sat out. But that alone doesn’t explain or excuse the dreariness that transpired.
Go ahead and call it a meaningless outcome in a runner-up bowl, if that makes you feel better. It certainly mattered to the Gators, who finished 10-3 in Dan Mullen’s first season. And it should matter to the Wolverines, who also finished 10-3 but have lost three straight bowls and looked increasingly worse at the end of each season.
Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press: Michigan's football season was nothing but a mirage
Once again, Michigan was embarrassed.
Once again, the Wolverines ended a football season, searching for answers.
"I thought they were ready," Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said after the Wolverines were annihilated by Florida in the Peach Bowl, 41-15, on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
But the Wolverines weren’t ready.
They were outcoached and outplayed once again.
Just like at Ohio State.
And this once promising season ended with a total collapse after two horrible losses.
Where does that leave this team?
In the end, this season was nothing but a mirage. When Michigan was ripping off 10 straight wins, it was considered one of the top teams in the country. Even the oddsmakers in Vegas were buying into it. The Wolverines were favored against both Ohio State and against Florida.
But that was nothing but an illusion.
Those two losses revealed everything about the state of this program.
Michigan has a good team.
Not a great team.
Far, far from a great team.
Mark Schlabach, ESPN: Mullen, Harbaugh end season on different notes as Florida dominates Michigan
OK, just for argument's sake, let's assume that Michigan really didn't want to be playing in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday.
The No. 7 Wolverines were coming off an epic loss to rival Ohio State more than a month ago, which cost them a chance to play for their first Big Ten championship since 2004 and knocked them out of the College Football Playoff.
The Wolverines were playing short-handed, after four of their best players decided to skip the bowl game to either recover from nagging injuries or prepare for the NFL draft.
Besides, indifference seems to be a rather convenient excuse for SEC teams that fall short in the postseason.
But what does it really say about Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and the direction of his program if he couldn't get his team motivated to play in a New Year's Six bowl game?
Michigan didn't just lose its third consecutive bowl game on Saturday. It was walloped 41-15 by No. 10 Florida, which has a first-year coach and lost by three touchdowns to Missouri at home.
That's what $7.5 million per season gets the Wolverines? In Year 4?
Harbaugh, the former Michigan quarterback, has won 38 games in four seasons at his alma mater. He hasn't won a Big Ten title, hasn't beaten Ohio State and is now 1-3 in bowl games.
Cody Stavenhagen, The Athletic: After Michigan’s Peach Bowl loss, a feeling of resignation
After the nausea that was a 41-15 loss in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl finally stopped, the feeling was not sadness or anger. It was one of those losses that come instead with a sense of resignation. A few players headed for midfield to chat with Florida acquaintances. Most just veered off to the left and headed for the tunnel, stoic looks on their faces, no tears in their eyes.
The scene in the Michigan locker room was no different. The Wolverines accepted their fates and packed their bags and got the hell out. After getting bashed against Ohio State and losing four players to the NFL Draft, Michigan did little to dispel the narrative that it wasn’t fully invested in this game.
Shea Patterson got asked what coaches said in the locker room and at least gave some candor.
"I honestly don’t remember," Patterson said. "I was so pissed off."
The team started with some energy Saturday, even sent some receivers running down the field. Then a few bad things happened and Jake Moody missed a field goal right before halftime. A close game soon turned into a demolition. The once-vaunted Wolverines defense got toasted again.
In the locker room and in the breakout interviews across the hall, players said the energy and effort were what they wanted. Tight end Zach Gentry said the players "were busting their butts." Another concise Jim Harbaugh news conference included the fourth-year coach answering these questions with, "I thought they were emotionally ready, yeah."
On one end of the locker room, receiver Tarik Black stood with a couple of reporters and offered a more raw view.
"This stuff ain’t happening again," Black told them. "This losing stuff."
For the third consecutive season under a coach supposed to be fiery and friendly to the idea of intrinsic motivation, the Wolverines lost the final two games of the season. At Michigan, this has happened eight times since 2004. So as another year slumped to its conclusion, Harbaugh sat in his chair and stared off into the distance much like he did when the wheels were falling off in the second half.
Despite Michigan’s success and high rankings and consistent involvement in the Playoff race deep into the season under Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines consistently limp to the finish line.
In Septembers and Octobers, the Wolverines are 27-5 under Harbaugh. In Novembers onward, they’re 11-9.
In the last three seasons since Harbaugh’s really gotten things rolling, things look even uglier.
2016: 9-0 start, 1-3 finish
2017: 8-2 start, 0-3 finish
2018: 10-1 start, 0-2 finish
That late-season loss number includes an upset against Iowa, but the more troubling results are against teams that are in the same neighborhood of talent and blue blood cachet that Michigan lives in.
There’s three losses to Ohio State in there — including this year’s blowout. There’s a two touchdown loss to Wisconsin in 2017. There’s a 16-point come from behind victory by South Carolina in there. And now there’s this loss to Florida, which by the 26-point margin makes it the second-biggest non Ohio State loss Harbaugh has had while in Ann Arbor.
And this is with a roster that’s considered the best incarnation of what Harbaugh actually wants for his team.
Bill Bender, Sporting News: Michigan's Peach Bowl loss latest predictable flop under Jim Harbaugh
Michigan entered Saturday with the seventh-best record among Power 5 schools since Harbaugh's arrival in 2015. You'd think that's much lower, given the big-game flops and the social-media criticism. But this is a top-10 program that will be ranked in the top 10 in most preseason polls. Harbaugh has a 38-14 record and .731 winning percentage. The only teams with better records in that stretch are Alabama (54-3), Clemson (53-4), Ohio State (47-6), Oklahoma (46-7), Wisconsin (42-12) and Georgia (42-12).
The records are close, but there's a clear separation from good to great that requires pushing the throttle out of neutral and into overdrive. That's the difference between a solid and championship-caliber program. Harbaugh remains the right guy for the job, but this still feels like Michigan toward the end of the Lloyd Carr era.
Notice Wisconsin is the other team on that list that has not broken through to the Playoff. The Badgers are predictable too, but they have a big offensive line and a running back factory that has produced four Doak Walker Award winners (Ron Dayne, Montee Ball, Melvin Gordon, Jonathan Taylor) since 1999.
Michigan doesn't have that beef in the running game, but tries to play like it does. The Wolverines also are trying to catch Ohio State, and you don't do that by trying to be Wisconsin. If that mindset does not change, then another predictable pattern will follow in 2019.
Monitor one predictable stat at all times: Michigan still cannot run the ball in big games. This marks 14 losses under Harbaugh, and in 13 of those losses the Wolverines failed to average 3.0 yards per carry. Michigan averaged 2.8 yards per carry at half and 2.5 yards per carry for the game.
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