A Peach Bowl that was expected to be a bit of a defensive slugfest has lived up to its billing so far. Florida leads Michigan 13-10 at halftime in Atlanta. Florida took the lead late in the second quarter when Feleipe Franks took off on a draw up the middle on third down and leaped for a go-ahead score.
Michigan appeared to score a touchdown early in the game when Christian Turner seemed to take off for a long touchdown on the third play of the game, but an instant replay review brought the football back to the Florida 38-yard line, where he stepped out of bounds. The drive would stall at that yard line with a turnover on downs when Ben Mason was stuffed on a fourth-and-one run.
Florida put the first points on the board later in the first quarter with a 21-yard field goal by Evan McPherson, but the Gators clearly left some points on the board after having a first-and-goal from the three-yard line and not being able to pick up an inch. Franks missed an open wide receiver in the end zone for what should have been an easy touchdown when he ran out of bounds on first down.
McPherson kicked a second field goal in the second quarter to cut the Michigan lead to one, but Michigan’s Jake Moody picked a field goal to give the Wolverines a four-point lead later in the second quarter. Moody missed a kick wide left from 52 yards in the final seconds of the half, preventing Michigan from tying the game at halftime.