Michigan sends Carr out in style

ORLANDO, Fla. -- On a day the Michigan Wolverines racked up 41 points and 524 yards, a day on which their seniors won their first bowl game and their coach won his last game, their most impressive move brought them no yards or points.

As the clock ran out on their 41-35 upset of ninth-ranked Florida -- and on Lloyd Carr’s coaching career -- players gathered and upended a huge bucket of water over the head of a startled but happy Carr.

It was cold and wet, and every drop was indescribably wonderful to Carr.

While his successor, Rich Rodriguez, watched from the sideline, Carr used the Capital One Bowl to deliver one last powerful lesson in motivation, integrity and class.

“I never in my life went to work coaching that I wasn’t looking forward to the day,” said Carr, who coached Michigan’s 1997 national champions.

“There were some days that were a lot better than others. There were some really hard ones in there. But I never woke up not wanting to be there.”

That was true even after Michigan lost its first two games this season, to unheralded Appalachian State and to Oregon and its wave-of-the-future spread offense. He wanted to be there for a team that was battered by injury but staved off self-doubt because he so strongly believed in each player.

In his last pregame speech, in a room tucked under the stands at Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium, Carr told his players Tuesday to win for themselves, not for him.

For once, they chose not to obey.

“We said we were going to go out there and do it for Coach Carr, and that’s what we did,” defensive end Brandon Graham said.

“We took our vows before the game and said we weren’t going to hold nothing back. We have no regrets, and we are proud of it.”

They were not perfect. Running back Mike Hart, who had not fumbled in 1,004 carries, fumbled twice deep in Florida territory. He lost the ball at the four-yard line in the second quarter with the score tied, 14-14, and at the one-yard line in the third quarter.

His second mishap gave the Gators possession for an eight-play, 80-yard drive they capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Caldwell, tying the score, 28-28, with 1 minute 26 seconds left in the quarter.

The Wolverines (9-4) overcame that because they had a healthy roster for the first time in many weeks. With a deep and effective arsenal, Carr installed a plan that shredded Florida’s young secondary and helped senior quarterback Chad Henne complete 25 of 39 passes for a career-best 373 yards.

Henne passed for three touchdowns, the first a 21-yard pass to Mario Manningham on the first drive of the game. He found Adrian Arrington for a one-yard pass in the second quarter and connected with a shockingly open Arrington in the fourth quarter for an 18-yard pass that put Michigan ahead, 38-35, with 4:12 to play.

“I’ve never won a bowl game,” Arrington said. “To send out our senior class winning a bowl game, that’s a great feeling.”

Carr also implemented defensive schemes that surprised the Gators (9-4) and held Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow to reasonable numbers.

Tebow completed 17 of 33 passes for 154 yards and three touchdowns, and he carried the ball 16 times for 57 yards and one touchdown. However, he couldn’t convert a fourth-and-six play at the Florida 24 after Michigan had taken a 38-35 lead with less than three minutes to play, one of many times he looked vulnerable.

Tebow and the Gators had another chance after Michigan’s K.C. Lopata kicked a 41-yard field goal with 2:21 to play, but Tebow threw four consecutive incomplete passes.

“They did bring a few new blitzes,” Tebow said. “They were a hungry team, ready to go.”

For linebacker Shawn Crable, who said last week that Tebow was overrated, it was sweet vindication.

“All they do is put a whole bunch of people in front of him and just let him pick his way,” Crable said. “We’re used to people trying to run the ball down our throat.

“We’re thinking to ourselves, ‘This is a quarterback. If it was a running back, it would be kind of nice. It’s a quarterback trying to run power plays on us. It’s not going to happen.’ ”

When it mattered, Tebow couldn’t equal the feats that made him the first sophomore to win the Heisman. The loss didn’t entirely sour his season, “but it definitely does take a little bit of the positive out of it,” he said.

Tebow may get another chance to win a bowl game. Carr won’t. When the Michigan band played its stirring fight song, “The Victors,” it was a serenade for Carr, a Michigan man to the end.

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Helene Elliott can be reached at helene.elliott@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Elliott, go to latimes.com/elliott.