Game Story

TAMPA, Florida  (Ticker) -- Chris Perry and John Navarre were
not affected by the Outback Bowl's early start time.

Perry rushed for an Outback- and team bowl-record four
touchdowns and Navarre passed for a career-high 319 yards and a
score as No. 11 Michigan defeated 20th-ranked Florida, 38-30.

"We gave everybody a preview of what to expect for next year,"
said Perry, who like Navarre will be a senior next season.

With an 11:00 a.m. EST kickoff, the offenses struggled early,
but quickly got untracked.

Perry's third touchdown gave Michigan the lead for good, 28-23,
with 7:48 left in the third quarter, and after the Wolverines
stopped the Gators three-and-out inside the 5 on the ensuing
possession, Perry gave the Wolverines a 12-point advantage with
a 13-yard run up the middle with 6:07 remaining in the period.

"Chris Perry has had an outstanding season," said Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr, whose running back and quarterback both were
somewhat maligned by the Wolverine faithful.  "I don't care
where you're at at Michigan, if you're a tailback or
quarterback, for some people you're just never good enough.  But
Chris Perry is good enough for me.  He's good enough for our
team.  When you gain over 1,000 yards in (the Big Ten
Conference), and against the schedule we play, you're a darn
good back."

But Rex Grossman, a junior who perhaps was playing in his final
game, rallied the Gators in the fourth quarter.  Grossman got
Florida within 35-30 on a three-yard pass to Aaron Walker with
8:21 left. After Adam Finley gave the Wolverines an eight-point
lead on a 33-yard field goal with 2:20 left, Grossman got one
last shot to tie the game.

Wolverines linebacker Victor Hobson, who had a career-best 12
tackles and one sack, was penalized for a late hit on Grossman
out of bounds with 1:15 to play, giving the Gators the ball at
the Michigan 37.

"Even had things gone badly for us after Victor's penalty, that
penalty was not a dumb penalty," Carr said.  "It was an
aggressive penalty."

But two plays later, receiver Vernell Brown, a quarterback in
high school, threw an ill-advised floater while avoiding a sack
on a reverse, and Hobson redeemed his blunder by intercepting
the ball. The Wolverines ran out the clock.

"We had been getting nearly all man coverage that whole series,
and Rex was going to be open," Gators coach Ron Zook said. "When
you're in man coverage you don't account for the quarterback,
and at that point in time I felt like it was a good opportunity
to do it."

"I was kind of upset with myself after that hit," Hobson said.
"When I made the hit I saw a lot of white, which I knew (meant)
he was out of bounds.  I just wanted to come back and do
whatever I could to help the team win.  I came up with the
interception and I can't really explain how I felt after that."

Perry, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, rushed 28
times for 85 yards and caught a career-high six passes for 108
for Michigan (10-3), which won 10 games in a season for the
fourth time under Carr.  The Wolverines improved to 4-1 against
Southeastern Conference bowl opponents under Carr, all in the
last five years.

Braylon Edwards caught four passes for 110 yards - his fourth
game this season with at least 100 - and Bennie Joppru had six
receptions for 80 yards.  Navarre, who was known to lock onto
his first option last season, spread the ball around to six
different receivers in this game and 14 this season.

Grossman was 21-of-41 for 323 yards for Florida (8-5), which
capped a disappointing first season under Zook.  The Gators
failed to become the only team in the nation to win at least
nine games every season since 1990.  Nebraska had won nine games
33 straight seasons until going 7-7 this campaign.

"I really haven't made up my mind yet," Grossman said about
whether he will return for his senior season.  "I'm going to
talk to my parents but I really have no idea what I'm going to
do."

"He's one of the best, a great quarterback," Michigan safety
Cato June said.  "He does it all well: runs, throws, thinks.
(But) he had some trouble running from our defensive line today
and our line did a great job containing him."

Zook made several questionable decisions, including electing to
go for a two-point conversion after Florida took its first lead,
13-7, on a one-yard run by Earnest Graham, who finished with
120 yards and two touchdowns, 2:56 into the second quarter.  The
direct snap to Ran Carthon was stuffed by the Wolverines, who
then took a 14-13 lead on Perry's second score, a one-yard dive
on fourth down with 3:54 left in the quarter.

"If everything goes as it should, you've got two points," Zook
said.  "It was there in the beginning and we took too long to
get the ball off."

After Florida regained the lead on a 29-yard field goal by Matt
Leach with 1:37 to go, the Wolverines went back ahead, 21-16, on
an eight-yard pass from Navarre to Ronald Bellamy with 27
seconds remaining in the half.

The Gators took their last lead, 23-21, on a 33-yard pass from
Grossman to Keiwan Ratliff 4:29 into the third quarter.

Michigan improved to 18-16 all time in bowl games, while Florida
fell to 14-16.  The Gators dropped to 21-12-3 in Tampa, where
they had not played since beating Mississippi State, 21-0, in
1989.

Florida dominated Michigan on the ground, 183-104, but fell to
98-4 since 1990 when outrushing its opponent.

The teams combined for an Outback Bowl-record 929 yards, with
Florida gaining 506 and Michigan 423.

"I told our seniors that I felt bad for them," Zook said.  "It's
a tough way to go out.  To the younger guys, I hope it hurts
them as much as it does me. But we played a good football team,
there's no question.  This is as good a football team as there
is in the country.  They easily could have beaten Ohio State
(and) Notre Dame.  They could have easily been 11-1.  I told our
players we got beat by a good, good football team."

"I'm very proud of our football team," Carr added.  "I thought
it was a great football game.  There were a lot of things that
went on out there with two teams that fought right down to the
end.  I'm proud and I'm very happy for our seniors.  I'm
extremely happy for our kids."