Perry impressive

Junior RB rushes for four TDs in UM Outback Bowl win

Michigan RB Chris Perry finished with 88 yards rushing and four TDs in the Wolverines' victory. AP

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- For all the problems Michigan tailback Chris Perry gave Florida on the field, nothing matched what Gators coach Ron Zook did to his own team.

Perry set a Wolverines bowl record with four touchdowns, and Zook made a number of questionable calls that helped No. 12 Michigan to a 38-30 win over No. 22 Florida in the Outback Bowl on Wednesday.

Bulling through the middle and taking advantage of screen and swing passes galore, Perry accounted for 193 yards -- 85 rushing and 108 receiving.

"I wouldn't say it was my best game, but it was one of them," he said.

His last two touchdowns lifted the Wolverines (10-3) from a two-point deficit to a 35-23 lead in the third quarter, and from there, Michigan held on -- with plenty of help from Zook.

Playing in possibly his last game for the Gators (8-5), junior Rex Grossman threw for 323 yards and two scores.

But with the game on the line, last year's Heisman Trophy runner-up didn't have the ball in his hands. Instead, he was running a pass pattern.

Grossman unsure of future TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Rex Grossman is going to hold Florida in suspense for a little while longer. The junior quarterback said Wednesday that he has not made up his mind about whether he'll return to the Gators for another season in an offense that did little to help his stock in the NFL draft. "I'm not quite sure how I feel now. I've got a huge headache and I really have no idea what's going on," said Grossman, who threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-30 loss to No. 12 Michigan in the Outback Bowl. "It's a life change. Whether to stay in college or go ahead and be a professional. There's a lot of things to consider, and I don't need to rush into anything. I honestly haven't made up my mind." Grossman began the season as a favorite for the Heisman Trophy after finishing second in the balloting as a sophomore in Steve Spurrier's Fun 'N' Gun offense. He thought about turning pro when his former coach bolted for the NFL last winter, but decided against leaving when Ron Zook was hired and vowed to run an offense that would allow him to continue to flourish. It didn't happen. Grossman struggled to find his niche in the system installed by first-year offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher, hardly resembling the quarterback who threw for 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. After last season, he was projected as a late-first, early second-round pick. But this season, he threw for 22 touchdowns and 17 interceptions and surely didn't push his stock forward for the NFL draft. Plus, Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer from USC and Marshall's Byron Leftwich are projected as the top two quarterbacks entering the draft. Grossman said he does not regret staying, he's convinced Zaunbrecher's offense will work and that the Gators (8-5) will re-emerge as a national contender. "We lost quite a bit of games, but there were times when we looked like a great team," Grossman said. "We're going to be a lot better next year. If I stay, I'm looking forward to great things." Grossman did not offer a timetable for announcing a decision. Zook spoke with the quarterback about his future Tuesday but did not shed any light on which way Grossman might be leaning. "I'd love to see him come back. ... I told him and his father whatever you do, him and I will always be friends. ... He'll do what's best for him and his career," Zook said.

With the Gators trailing 38-30 and moving downfield nicely with a minute left, Zook called for a trick play from the Michigan 27.

Freshman cornerback-turned-receiver Vernell Brown took the ball on a reverse and, under heavy pressure, lobbed a terrible pass downfield that was intercepted by Victor Hobson to seal the victory.

Grossman was the intended receiver, and Zook explained he would have been open because the Wolverines were in man coverage.

"I OK'd the play. I was on the headset," Zook said of the call that came from offensive coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher.

"We brought it up early in the series," Zook said. "I asked, 'Are you sure we want to do this?' We had worked on it. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it doesn't."

Grossman, who still hasn't decided whether he'll return for his senior season, said the play worked in practice all the time.

"It's a risky call," he said. "But you can get some good rewards, too. It can go both ways."

Hobson said he was shocked to see Brown, a high school quarterback who hadn't thrown a pass all season, making the key throw of the game. Meanwhile, Michigan quarterback John Navarre stood on the sideline in shock.

"I can't comment on coaching decisions because I'm not a coach," Navarre said. "You just never know how those kind of plays are going to work out."

Of course, that play may have only masked another series of questionable calls by Zook.

After Earnest Graham's touchdown gave the Gators a 13-7 lead in the second quarter, Zook inexplicably called for a 2-point conversion try out of an unbalanced set. It failed. Later, when the Gators scored a touchdown to go ahead 22-21, Zook went for 1, not 2 because, he said, "it was too early."

Thus, the Gators found themselves behind by eight points late, instead of seven.

Grossman finished 21-for-41 and wasn't necessarily the best quarterback on the field. Navarre went 21-for-36 for 319 yards.

Nursing a 35-30 lead with five minutes left, Navarre hit Perry on a screen for a 30-yard gain to set up a field goal.

The Gators hit the five-loss mark for the first time since 1989, the year before Steve Spurrier took over the program and brought it to national prominence.

"This is not up to the standard that's been set around here," Zook said. "And it's not up to the standard we're going to have around here."

Perry, who has been swapped in and out with B.J. Askew as Michigan's feature back throughout his career, broke the Michigan bowl record of three touchdowns held by six players, most recently David Terrell in the 2000 Orange Bowl.

Perry finished with 1,110 yards this season. His career has been spotty -- filled with good games, signs of huge potential and the criticism that has come when he hasn't fulfilled it.

"When you're at Michigan, if you're the tailback or the quarterback, for some people, it's just never good enough," coach Lloyd Carr said. "But he's good enough for me."

Perry was hardly the only player to cause Florida problems.

Receiver Braylon Edwards caught four passes for 110 yards. Tight end Bennie Joppru had six catches for 80 yards. Askew, the team's most valuable player this season, played the entire game even though he broke his hand in the first quarter.

"He said, 'Coach, I can't catch the ball, I can't run, but I can block,'" Carr said. "There's a story behind every player."

 

Related information

Stories

Fiesta Bowl Day at a Glance: Don't forget the kickers Stopping Miami's quick-strike offense no easy task

Stats

Michigan-Florida Game Summary

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video