I 2C - January 3, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com GAME STATISTICS 0 Tear Stats First Downs Rush/Yds Passing Yards Offensive Plays Total Offense Return Yards Conp/Att/Int Punts/Avg Furbles/Lost Penalties/Yards Tire of Poss MICH 28 47/151 373 86 524 118 25/39/2 2/44.5 4/2 8/65 32:18 OF 18 32/230 169 66 399 93 18/34/0 3/118 1/0 9/49 27:42 4 65 65.0 65 7 7.0 7 4 4.0- 4 4 4.0 4 0 20 0 29 0 29 0 cale 4 2 6 'nglem o t a 4 2 6 Jamison 3 . ' 3 updose 2 1 3 Warren 2 1 3 Trent 2 0 2 stewa- De v e Eeh 2 0 2 Bradon 2 0G2 tamthey ame0ou a lopaou te|E Bans 1 0 t Arrinton 7 0 1 Rogers l d BroTi 1 e1b "It's not an upset, because this is what's suinosed to had enl Michigan is supposed to come in and beat the SEC because we are the Big Ten." - Defensive end Brandon Graham "They were a hungry team, they came out ready to go, ready to fight, and they heard a lot about the SECo and wanted to get a piece of it. And they did, unfortunately." - Florida quarterback Tim Tebow "I'm glad we played this game against a great Florida team, they had the Heisman winner, they had all the hype, we're the underdogs, we love being the underdogs, we came down here in front of a Florida crowd and we took over the stadium and won the game. It's a great ending to my career" - senior captain Mike Hart "The Heisman Trophy winner, I respect everything he does and I re ally like him as a person, but when you step out onto that field, you're not carrying that Heisman Trophy around with you. You're another player like everyone else." - senior safety Jamar Adams If freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett sticks around Ann Arbor, he could be a key component as Michigan implements coach Rich Rodriguez's spread offense. Highly touted quarterback recruit Ter- relle Pryor, who has listed Michigan as one of his top few choices, could also thrive in the spread-option system. I I A spread surprise ORLANDO, Fla - Heading into the Capi- tal One Bowl, I was pretty excited. No, I wasn't exactly thrilled about 4 Michigan's chances - or lack thereof - against SCOTT the defend- BELL ing National Champion Florida Gators. Instead, I was looking for- ward to getting a glimpse into what Michigan football might look like in the future - by watching Florida's offense. Though most of the attention was on Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and the hoopla surround- ing his retirement, it was hard to ignore the buzzword that had swept through Ann Arbor since Dec. 17. Spread. Sure, the 10.5 point spread was interesting to focus on. Just ask the countless Wolver- ine players who talked about feeling disrespected by odd- smakers who expected them to get beat by a double-digit margin. But the spread most Michi- gan fans were more interested in was the one they expected Florida to exclusively employ. Much to the surprise of well, pretty much everyone not wearing maize and blue, Michi- gan showed its variation of the spread to combat a Florida team that employs Urban Mey- er's own version of the spread option. And even though Chad Henne was never a threat to flirt with the ground numbers Tim Tebow or Dennis Dixon could put up, his MVP perfor- mance as the signal caller of a spread attack showed just how exciting future Michigan offenses could be. Rich Rodriguez, who essen- tially invented the modern-day version of the spread-option offense 17 years ago, plans to turn Michigan into a spread team. That excited many Wol- verine fans who had begged for their team to get with the changing face of college foot- ball. At the same time, it troubled some football purists, who thought a major change in foot- ball ideology could result in a Nebraska-like collapse from national prominence. Tuesday's victory didn't just give outgoing coach Lloyd Carr a proper sendoff. It calmed many on-the-fence fans and showed a spread attack can be successful in Ann Arbor with- out a full-scale retooling. Considering the Gators won the National Championship just two years after Meyer came and revamped their offense, Michigan fans should be pretty excited that a transition could yield big results that quickly. So whether it's Ryan Mallett running a pass-reliant offense or Terrelle Pryor doing his best Pat White impression as a run- first quarterback, next season doesn't necessarily have to be a rebuilding year for the Wol- verines. If Tuesday's game was any indication, it could be just what this team needs to take it to the next level. - Bell can be reached at scotteb@umich.edu. q I Pair of receivers display NFL potential. By JACK HERMAN Daily Sports Editor ORLANDO, Fla. - Whether Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham will play in the NFL next year remains undetermined after Michigan's 41-35 win over Florida. But if either does decide NOTEBOOK to go pro, there definitely - won't be any question to whether he is pleased with how he played in his final games. Teaming with game MVP Chad Henne, the duo led a Wolverine attack that recorded more yards in a bowl game (524) than any other Michigan team since the Point-a-Min- ute squad in the 1902 Rose Bowl. Together, Manningham and Arrington accounted for more than half of those yards. "We have a Mario Manningham and an Adrian Arrington opposite each other, any- thingcan happen," said wide receivers coach Erik Campbell, who said he planned to talk to both players about their decision concerning the NFL. Arrington said after the game he was still 50-50 on entering the NFL Draft. Manning- ham would not comment on the question. But whether it's for this year or next, both added some footage to their highlight reels Tuesday. Late in the fourth quarter, Arrington (nine catches, 153 yards) made perhaps the greatest catchofhiscareer. Coveredtightly,Arrington reached past Florida cornerback Markihe Anderson, hauling in a 37-yard pass with one hand outstretched over the defender. He caught his second touchdown, the eventual game-winner, two plays later while getting into the end zone for an18-yard score. Manningham moved further up Michi- gan's all-time receiving lists with his touch- down and 78 yards, but it was one of his seven runs that might have been most impressive. Motioning left before receiving a lateral from Henne in stride, Manningham reversed field all the wayback right late in the third quarter for a 23-yard first down. Although both might have played their final games, it was the final game of some- one else that mattered to both of them more. Coach Lloyd Carr challenged both at various points earlier this year. Above all, they said, they wanted to win for him. "Itmeant alot tome because me and coach Carr, we got this little bond going on, and it's like father-son," said Manningham, who served a one-game suspension against East- ern Michigan. "I respect him a lot. I'd do any- thing for him, so we had to go out here and send him out with a bang." CAGING THE GATORS: The Michigan offense received a lot of attention for open- ing the playbook, ranging from its four-wide receiver diamond formation to its unsuccess- ful pass to tackle Jake Long. But not to be outdone, the Wolverine defense also added some new schemes. Looking to contain Heisman Trophy win- ner Tim Tebow, Michigan implemented a number of new blitz packages on Tuesday. With Florida opting for a number of empty- backfield sets throughout the game, the extra pressure helped limit the dual-threat quar- terback to just 209 total yards. "We felt like going into the game, 'Hey, they hadn't really seen enough pressure,' " linebackers coach Steve Szabo said. "They want to empty, well, we're going to come after them." The extra pressure forced Tebow into a number of poor throws, especially late in the game. His final six passes fell incomplete. Safety Jamar Adams (nine tackles, one sack) was integral to the new scheme, help- ing lead a Michigan defense that recorded nine hurries. "It felt great hitting a Heisman," defensive lineman Tim Jamison said. "He was talking a little trash ... we don'ttalk trashback. We just talk with our pads. And we did it today." ONE FINAL HONOR: A day before his team sent him out with a final bowl win, Carr learned he would also retire with another award. Honoring his on- and off-the-field contri- butions to football, the Bobby Dodd Founda- tion named him national coach of the year. "When I got the call I was justspeechless," Carr told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Of all of the awards out there, you have to know there is none more meaningful to a coach. And this is one I really didn't expect to receive." 4 4 a 4 Wide receiver Mario Manningham moved up Michigan's all-time receiving rankings in what could be his final game as a Wolverine. v