2018 Peach Bowl (December)

The 2018 Peach Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2018. It was the 51st edition of the Peach Bowl, and the second Peach Bowl to be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The game was one of the College Football Playoff New Year's Six bowl games, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by the Chick-fil-A restaurant franchise, the game was officially known as the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
CFP New Year's Six 51st Peach Bowl
Florida Gators Michigan Wolverines (9–3) (10–2) SEC Big Ten 41 15 Head coach:  Dan Mullen Head coach:  Jim Harbaugh AP Coaches CFP 10 10 10 AP Coaches CFP 8 8 7
1 2 3 4 Total Florida 3 10 14 14 41 Michigan 7 3 0 5 15
Date	December 29, 2018
Season	2018
Stadium	Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
MVP	Feleipe Franks (QB, Florida) C. J. Gardner-Johnson (DB, Florida)[1]
Favorite	Michigan by 7.5[2]
Referee	Mike Defee (Big 12)
Attendance	74,006[3]
Payout	US$4 million to each team[4]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN and ESPN Radio
Announcers	Bob Wischusen (play-by-play) Brock Huard (analyst) Allison Williams (sideline) (ESPN) Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers and Cole Cubelic (ESPN Radio)
Nielsen ratings	5.3[5]
International TV coverage
Network	ESPN Deportes
Announcers	Roger Valdivieso Alex Pombo
Peach Bowl  < 2018 (Jan.) 2019 >

The game featured the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference and the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. Going in to the bowl, Florida was the highest-ranked team that did not appear in the preseason AP top 25 poll. Michigan's defense had given up an average of 263 yards per game, the best in the nation.^[6]

Teams

The game featured the Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference in their fifth meeting against each other. Michigan had won each of its prior games against Florida, most recently in the 2017 Advocare Classic by a score of 33–17.^[7]

Florida Gators

Main article: 2018 Florida Gators football team

After finishing their regular season with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference), the Gators were selected to their third Peach Bowl appearance. This was their 44th bowl game appearance.^[8]

Michigan Wolverines

Main article: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team

After finishing their regular season with a 10–2 record (8–1 in conference), the Wolverines were selected to their first Peach Bowl appearance. This was their 47th bowl game appearance, tied for 11th-highest total all-time among FBS schools.^[9] Several Michigan players, including RB Karan Higdon, DL Rashan Gary, and LB Devin Bush Jr., sat out the game in order to focus on the 2019 NFL draft.^[10]

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP FLA MICH 1 5:37 10 71 3:52 FLA 21-yard field goal by Evan McPherson 3 0 1 2:03 9 75 3:34 MICH Donovan Peoples-Jones 9-yard touchdown reception from Shea Patterson, Jake Moody kick good 3 7 2 12:22 10 66 4:41 FLA 26-yard field goal by Evan McPherson 6 7 2 5:56 4 0 1:58 MICH 48-yard field goal by Jake Moody 6 10 2 2:41 8 75 3:15 FLA Feleipe Franks 20-yard touchdown run, Evan McPherson kick good 13 10 3 8:06 6 44 2:43 FLA La’Mical Perine 5-yard touchdown reception from Feleipe Franks, Evan McPherson kick good 20 10 3 2:34 8 63 4:07 FLA Jordan Scarlett 1-yard touchdown run, Evan McPherson kick good 27 10 4 12:16 11 67 5:18 MICH 26-yard field goal by Jake Moody 27 13 4 9:21 6 75 2:55 FLA La’Mical Perine 53-yard touchdown run, Evan McPherson kick good 34 13 4 4:58 MICH Punt blocked through the back of the end zone, safety 34 15 4 4:43 FLA Interception returned 30 yards for touchdown by C. J. Gardner-Johnson, Evan McPherson kick good 41 15 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 41 15

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 10 Gators	3	10	14	14	41
No. 7 Wolverines	7	3	0	5	15

Statistics	FLA	MICH
First downs	15	18
Plays–yards	64–427	67–326
Rushes–yards	40–257	30–77
Passing yards	170	249
Passing: comp–att–int	14–24–0	23–37–2
Time of possession	31:19	28:41

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Feleipe Franks	13/23, 173 yds, 1 TD
	Rushing	La'Mical Perine	6 rec, 76 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Van Jefferson	4 rec, 64 yds
Michigan	Passing	Shea Patterson	22/36, 236 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Christian Turner	7 car, 32 yds
	Receiving	Nico Collins	5 rec, 80 yds

Note: 74,006 was the officially announced attendance figure;^[3] "turnstile count" subsequently reported as 68,413.^[11]

References

1. Thompson, Edgar (December 29, 2018). "Gators smash Michigan in Peach Bowl, cap Dan Mullen's elite debut season". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
2. Fawkes, Ben (December 3, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
3. @CourtneyWESH2 (December 29, 2018). "Official Attendance: 74,006" (Tweet). Retrieved December 29, 2018 – via Twitter.
4. Dosh, Kristi (January 1, 2018). "How College Football Playoff's Payouts Compare With BCS's: A Conference-By-Conference Breakdown". Forbes. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
5. Volner, Derek (December 30, 2018). "College Football Playoff Semifinals Continue to Deliver Strong Ratings for ESPN; Rank among Top Cable Presentations of the Year". espnmediazone.com. ESPN MediaZone. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
6. Mather, Victor (December 4, 2018). "From Roses to Cheez-Its, Your Guide to All 40 College Football Bowls". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2018.
7. "2017: Michigan vs. Florida". advocareclassicfootball.com. September 2, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
8. Carter, Scott (December 2, 2018). "Gators Get Peachy Rematch with Michigan". floridagators.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
9. Ablauf, Dave; Shepard, Chad (December 2, 2018). "Michigan Matched Up Against Florida in Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 29". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
10. Hayes, David (December 29, 2018). "Michigan Players Skipping Citrus Bowl Game Showing Clear Impact". fanduel.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
11. Tucker, Tim (February 25, 2019). "Falcons, other events at Mercedes-Benz draw smaller crowds than announced". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 25, 2019.

External links

• Official website
• Box score at ESPN