Bo tried to fire up team to the end

On Thursday, a day before he died of heart failure at 77, former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler did what you might expect a Michigan man to do.

He spoke to his team.

“I tried to convince him not to talk,” Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr said. “Because when I went down to get him, about 2:20, he said he was having a hard time breathing.”

But that didn’t stop Bo.

“He said, ‘No, I’m going to talk to them.’ ”

A day later, Carr broke the news of Schembechler’s death to his team.

“That was hard and it was emotional,” Carr said. “And yet, you know, I think all of us have challenges that, you know ... I think all of us have challenges that, you know -- you’ve got to move on.”

What was the pregame speech like?

“Bo was just trying to get us hyped up,” Michigan quarterback Chad Henne said. “He’s been in many Michigan-Ohio State games, just saying go out there and play our best, play to your capability. I mean, just keep fighting. And that’s definitely what we did today, but we just came up on the short end.”

Schembechler was honored with a video tribute shortly before Saturday’s game.

Carr watched the tribute with his hands stuffed into his big blue jacket. He then removed his hands from his pockets, clapped them five times, and got ready for the opening kickoff.

Schembechler’s family and Michigan announced there would be a “Celebration of Bo’s Life” on Tuesday at Michigan Stadium. There will be a public viewing today, but the funeral will be private.

“He was a great man,” Michigan tailback Mike Hart said. “You know he started a tradition of excellence in the classroom and on the football field at Michigan. ... You know, no one’s ever going to forget about him on this team and what he’s done for this team.”

Schembechler probably wouldn’t have been happy with Michigan’s defensive performance against Ohio State, but he missed a great game.

“I’m a little mad at him because he didn’t stay around for this game,” Carr said. “But it wouldn’t be fair to use that in any way, and we don’t. And all I can say about him is I loved that man.”

chris.dufresne@latimes.com

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at No. 3 Florida 62, Western Carolina 0: Brandon James broke the school record for punt return yardage, returning six punts for 155 yards and scoring on a 77-yarder at Gainesville for the Gators (10-1), who scored touchdowns on nine of their first 10 possessions.

No. 5 Arkansas 28, at Mississippi State 14: Darren McFadden returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown at Starkville, and Chris Houston scored on an 87-yard interception for the Razorbacks (10-1, 7-0), who clinched the Western Division title.

at No. 9 Louisiana State 23, Mississippi 20: Colt David’s 26-yard field goal in overtime won it at Baton Rouge for the Tigers (9-2, 5-2), who could have won after Dwayne Bowe’s final-seconds touchdown, but the Rebels (3-8, 1-6) blocked the extra point.

No. 15 Auburn 22, at Alabama 15: Brandon Cox threw a 22-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter at Tuscaloosa and the Tigers (10-2, 6-2) earned their fifth straight win in the rivalry.

No. 22 Tennessee 39, at Vanderbilt 10: Erik Ainge threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns at Nashville and LaMarcus Coker ran for two more for the Volunteers (8-3, 4-3).

at South Carolina 52, Middle Tennessee State 7: Blake Mitchell passed for a career-high 388 yards and four touchdowns at Columbia, and the Gamecocks (6-5) are bowl-eligible.

at Kentucky 42, Louisiana-Monroe 40: Keenan Burton caught three touchdown passes at Lexington and the Wildcats (7-4, 4-3) clinched their first winning season since 2002.

From the Associated Press

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No. 19 Virginia Tech 27, at No. 14 Wake Forest 6: Sean Glennon threw two touchdown passes and Xavier Adibi had a 35-yard fumble return for a score to lead the Hokies (9-2, 5-2) over the Demon Deacons (9-2, 5-2) at Winston-Salem, N.C. The win came despite losing tailback Branden Ore -- the ACC’s leading rusher -- in the first quarter to an ankle injury.

at No. 18 Georgia Tech 49, Duke 21: Reggie Ball passed for three touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets (9-2, 7-1) in a victory over the winless Blue Devils at Atlanta. Georgia Tech put the game away in the first half and rested its starters.

at No. 20 Boston College 38, No. 21 Maryland 16: Jolonn Dunbar scored on two fumble recoveries before the offense took the field for the Eagles (9-2, 5-2). The Terrapins (8-3, 5-2) ended their five-game winning streak.

at North Carolina 23, North Carolina State 9: Ronnie McGill rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown, and the Tar Heels (2-9, 1-6) forced three turnovers in the fourth against the Wolfpack (3-8, 2-6), giving fired Coach John Bunting a win in his final game at Chapel Hill.

at Virginia 17, Miami 7: Jameel Sewell ran for two touchdowns and the Cavaliers (5-6, 4-3) kept their bowl hopes alive at Charlottesville. The Hurricanes (5-6, 2-5) have lost four straight.

at Florida State 28, Western Michigan 20: Backup quarterback Xavier Lee threw two touchdown passes to Greg Carr and Lawrence Timmons scored on a 22-yard interception return for the Seminoles (6-5) at Tallahassee. The 7-4 Broncos’ last-minute effort to tie it ended on an incomplete pass.

From the Associated Press

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at Cincinnati 30, No. 7 Rutgers 11 -- Reserve quarterback Nick Davila made his first career start and led the Bearcats (6-5, 3-3) to their biggest upset in school history, ending a perfect season and national title aspirations for the Scarlet Knights (9-1, 4-1).

at No. 10 Louisville 31, South Florida 8 -- Brian Brohm threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns to wide receiver Harry Douglas at Louisville, Ky., for the Cardinals (9-1, 4-1), who avenged a 31-point loss to the Bulls (7-4, 3-3) last year behind a stout defense that limited South Florida to 286 yards and sacked quarterback Matt Grothe six times.

at Syracuse 20, Connecticut 14 -- Curtis Brinkley scored two touchdowns at Syracuse, N.Y., and the Orange (4-7, 1-5) defense shut down the running game for the Huskies (4-6, 1-4), ending a 12-game losing streak in the conference.

From the Associated Press