ORLANDO, Fla -

Heading into the Capital One Bowl, I was pretty excited.

No, I wasn't exactly thrilled about Michigan's chances - or lack thereof - against the defending National Champion Florida Gators.

Instead, I was looking forward to getting a glimpse into what Michigan football might look like in the future - by watching Florida's offense.

Though most of the attention was on Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and the hoopla surrounding his retirement, it was hard to ignore the buzzword that had swept through Ann Arbor since Dec. 17.

Spread.

Sure, the 10.5 point spread was interesting to focus on. Just ask the countless Wolverine players who talked about feeling disrespected by oddsmakers who expected them to get beat by a double-digit margin.

But the spread most Michigan fans were more interested in was the one they expected Florida to exclusively employ.

Much to the surprise of well, pretty much everyone not wearing maize and blue, Michigan showed its variation of the spread to combat a Florida team that employs Urban Meyer's own version of the spread option.

And even though Chad Henne was never a threat to flirt with the ground numbers Tim Tebow or Dennis Dixon could put up, his MVP performance as the signal caller of a spread attack showed just how exciting future Michigan offenses could be.

Rich Rodriguez, who essentially invented the modern-day version of the spread-option offense 17 years ago, plans to turn Michigan into a spread team. That excited many Wolverine fans who had begged for their team to get with the changing face of college football.

At the same time, it troubled some football purists, who thought a major change in football ideology could result in a Nebraska-like collapse from national prominence.

Tuesday's victory didn't just give outgoing coach Lloyd Carr a proper sendoff. It calmed many on-the-fence fans and showed a spread attack can be successful in Ann Arbor without a full-scale retooling.

Considering the Gators won the National Championship just two years after Meyer came and revamped their offense, Michigan fans should be pretty excited that a transition could yield big results that quickly.

So whether it's Ryan Mallett running a pass-reliant offense or Terrelle Pryor doing his best Pat White impression as a run-first quarterback, next season doesn't necessarily have to be a rebuilding year for the Wolverines.

If Tuesday's game was any indication, it could be just what this team needs to take it to the next level.

-Bell can be reached at scotteb@umich.edu.