Fresh off an impressive 2007 BCS championship blow out of Ohio State and the first full season of Tim Tebow as the starting quarterback the Florida Gators looked ready to take on a wounded Michigan team that suffered perhaps the single most embarrassing loss to start a season when Appalachian State won in the Big House. Here are the top storylines from that game: Urban Meyer’s third season at Florida was more than a little bit of a let down after winning it all in 2007. In this game Meyer’s game plan looked stale and predictable. The Gator offense relied heavily on Tebow that year and this game wasn’t much different. In four straight plays to end the game Tebow was rushed and wasn’t able to move the ball. It’s safe to say that Tebow was still not yet the come from behind football player he is for his current job in the NFL. Michigan’s coach Lloyd Carr in the months leading up to the game announced his retirement as the head of the storied program. Big losses against Appalachian State and Oregon to start the season made it look obvious that the coach had lost some of his competitive edge. By game’s end Carr gets carried off the field for his last victory as the Michigan coach in a 41-35 win.
993…that’s the number of carries that Michigan running back Mike Heart had gone without a fumble. In this game he gave up the ball twice. If Heart doesn’t put the ball on the turf Michigan wins this game in a laugher. On his first turnover Michigan had just completed a huge pass play inside the five yard line and were about to take the lead in a 14-14 ball game.
College coaches move around a lot. This game featured two future head coaches working as assistants with Ron English as a Michigan assistant and Charlie Strong working the sideline for the Gators. Both have moved on to coach their own programs. In addition future Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez strolled the sidelines throughout the game and spoke to ABC announcers during the game. In the strange but true category the Gator’s defense was coached by none other than current Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison.
For Michigan fans the 2008 Capital One Bowl was the last win in a bowl game. For Gator fans this game was the low point to what would led to Meyer’s second BCS title the following season. Both teams have hit low points since the game. With most notably Michigan suffering a three year downturn under Rodriguez and Florida suffering back to back seasons in 2010 and 2011 that featured no SEC titles and second tier bowl games.
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