To quote the great Doc Emrick, “What chaos!”
The Orange Bowl, which looked to be a runaway win for Florida State through a half and into the third quarter, went nuts Friday night, transforming into a wild back-and-forth shootout in the game’s final minutes. Michigan, down 20-6 at halftime, came all the way and led with under two minutes left, only to watch Florida State retake the lead in the final minute and send the Wolverines to a 33-32 loss.
The Seminoles were in cruise control early, getting huge plays from running back Dalvin Cook and quarterback Deondre Francois. Cook rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown on the first drive of the game, and Francois pitched a 92-yard touchdown pass later in the first quarter. And all the while the Florida State defense was even better, silencing the Michigan offense and forcing the Wolverines to three field goals on three trips inside the 10-yard line over the first three quarters, forcing punts on the other seven of the Wolverines' first 10 drives.
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The spark for Michigan came on a pick six by Mike McCray, the team’s first touchdown of the game that narrowed the deficit to just five despite the complete ineffectiveness of the Wolverines’ offense. But Cook struck again not long after, ripping off a 71-yard run that was followed by another Florida State touchdown.
This time, though, the Michigan offense made something happen, turning a short field into a Wilton Speight touchdown pass to make it a five-point game once more at 27-22 with under five and a half minutes to play. The Wolverines’ defense — which outside of those few gigantic plays played pretty well — forced a punt, and Speight led another drive, this one capped by a sensational 30-yard scoring dash by Chris Evans. Once Speight’s pass found Amara Darboh for a successful two-point conversion attempt, Michigan was improbably in front, 30-27, with 117 seconds to play.
But Florida State had one more huge play in its bag of tricks, Keith Gavin returning the ensuing kickoff 66 yards to put the Seminoles in immediate scoring position. Four plays later, Francois tossed a touchdown pass over Jourdan Lewis for the go-ahead score. The touchdown made it 33-30, but the madness wasn’t done, as Michigan blocked the extra point and returned it all the way to the other end of the field for two points, making it a one-point game at 33-32.
Michigan’s last-ditch attempt to move the ball down the field in 36 seconds was unsuccessful, and Florida State walked away with a win in a fantastically entertaining game.
Big Ten
The Wolverines’ comeback and late lead were remarkable considering their lack of success on the offensive side of the ball throughout much of the game. Michigan gained just 252 total yards on the night, only 89 on the ground, and 56 of those came on three consecutive runs by Speight and Evans on the go-ahead touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines were horrible in the red zone in the first three quarters, getting inside the 10-yard line three times and settling for three field goals. That included Florida State’s muffed punt in the first quarter that set Michigan up at the one-yard line.
Speight, though his numbers won’t jump off the page, was mighty impressive late, engineering a comeback in the face of constant pressure. The Seminoles ended up with four sacks of Speight, though he threw for 163 yards and a touchdown, plus an interception on his final throw of the game after Florida State took the 33-32 lead.
Michigan’s comeback also came after the loss of its two best players. Do-it-all star and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Jabrill Peppers was ruled out before the game after suffering an injury in practice. And Jake Butt, the Big Ten Tight End of the Year, was knocked out of the game with an injury in the second quarter. Butt, a senior, has played his final game in a Michigan uniform, and many expect the same to be true of Peppers, who as a junior is receiving a ton of NFL Draft buzz after finishing in the top five in voting for the Heisman Trophy.
Cook starred for Florida State, finishing the game with 145 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, plus 62 receiving yards on three catches. Francois threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns, plus the interception that McCray returned for the third-quarter touchdown.
While the comeback was thrilling and showed Michigan was much better than the team that looked so ugly through the first two and a half quarters, the loss makes it three in the season’s final four games for the Wolverines. At one point, Jim Harbaugh’s team was 9-0 and looking to be on a path to the College Football Playoff. But then came the loss at Iowa before a win over Indiana, then the season-determining loss at Ohio State.
Harbaugh has turned in back-to-back 10-win seasons in his first two years as the head coach at Michigan — something that had only been done once in the eight seasons prior to his arrival — but surely this season will be viewed as a disappointment given the lofty championship expectations.