Carr's final game comes against No. 9 Gators in Capital One Bowl

Tools

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, center, shouts at his team, including quarterback Chad Henne (7), in the final minute of their 25-21 loss to Ohio State in Ann Arbor, Mich., in this Nov. 198, 2005 file photo. Lloyd Carr retired Monday Nov. 19, 2007 after 13 seasons as Michigan's football coach, opening up the job leading the nation's winningest program. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Dec 2, 2007 at 9:19 PM EST

Story Updated: Dec 2, 2007 at 9:19 PM EST

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Lloyd Carr's final game will be against last season's national champions.

Michigan and its retiring coach will play No. 9 Florida in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Day.

The Gators (9-3) won four consecutive games to end the season and were chosen ahead of Southeastern Conference Eastern Division champion Tennessee in the league's bowl pecking order.

The Wolverines (8-4) could have secured a spot in the Rose Bowl by beating rival Ohio State two weeks, but they lost 14-3 and Carr announced his retirement the following day.

Michigan is still looking for its next coach, getting emphatically turned down by LSU coach Les Miles on Saturday.

Regardless of when the search wraps up, Carr already has agreed to stay with the team through its bowl game.

Now, Carr can only hope for better results against Florida than what the Buckeyes had in January. The Gators romped 41-14 in the Bowl Championship Series national title game.

That was Florida's second national title.

Carr won one in 1997, but that seemed like a distant memory after Michigan's shocking loss to Appalachian State to open the year and after Carr fell to 6-7 against Ohio State. He also dropped to 1-6 against Jim Tressel-coached teams.

Michigan has lost its last four bowl games. The last win came against Florida in the 2003 Outback Bowl, a 38-30 victory that was highlighted by one of the worst coaching decisions in former Florida coach Ron Zook's career.

Driving for a possible tying score with time dwindling, Zook OK'd a play that called for receiver Vernell Brown to take a handoff and try to throw downfield to quarterback Rex Grossman. It failed. Michigan intercepted the pass and Grossman, unbelievably, wrapped up his college career running a pass pattern instead of throwing a pass.

The Gators have won both of their bowl games under coach Urban Meyer, beating Iowa 31-24 in the 2006 Outback Bowl and then winning it all in Glendale, Ariz., last season.

More Good Stuff

WSBT Weather

Current Temp 55.6

More Weather

WSBT Weather

More Weather

On Demand

iPhone
Get the WSBT News and Irish Sports Report apps for your iPhone! Read more »
On DVD
Order a DVD of a WSBT news story! Read more »
Twitter
Follow us on Twitter! Read more »
Facebook
Connect with us on Facebook! Read more »
WSBT E-News
Daily StormTracker e-mails right to your Inbox! Read more »
Video On Demand
Miss a story on WSBT News? Watch it here! Read more »
CBS Shows
Watch CBS shows and news online, free! Read more »
WSBT Alert
Breaking News & Weather right to your cell phone! Read more »
Mobile
WSBT News on the go for your cell phone or PDA. Read more »
RSS Feeds
Get news and updates as soon as they're published. Read more »

Stock Quotes

YouNews

This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled. Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.