ORLANDO, Fla. -

He fought hard against the individual attention leading up to his final game, but in the end, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr lost that battle.

And in doing so, he passed his so-called impassable final test: ending his coaching career on top, both literally and figuratively.

Carr left Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium on the shoulders of his players, the ones he repeatedly told not to play this game just for him. It didn't work for Bo Schembechler 18 years earlier, so it wouldn't work for Carr, either, right?

Not quite.

Carr's team would have none of that talk.

No. 9 Florida may have been the heavy favorite on paper - the home-state, defending National Champion from the supposedly superior Southeastern Conference was playing an unranked Michigan squad, after all - but it didn't translate on the field. Trailing early, the speedy Gators and their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback did everything they could to regain the momentum. But fake punts and misdirection can only get you so far when you're battling a team hellbent on sending its beloved coach out in style.

The perfect stage

Though Carr's intentions to retire didn't become official until after the Ohio State game, most people within the program figured 2007 would be his last go-around as Michigan's sideline general. The 62-year-old coach's team had a chance to send him out on top, but by mid-September, a National Championship was already out of the picture.

Once Michigan bookended its regular season with back-to-back losses, a positive ending for the Lloyd Carr retirement tour looked like a near-impossible fate. A team with top-notch talent and an excess of leadership suffered top-notch disappointment and an excess of injuries.

Time and time again, it became obvious that good things don't always happen to good people. Storybook endings may make people smile walking out of movie theaters, but they're a rare fate in real life.

But on New Year's Day, with millions watching on a national stage, real life made an exception for Lloyd Carr.

Carr's not alone

The game had all the ingredients of being yet another disappointment for a team too familiar with the feeling.

Mike Hart fumbled twice in the red zone. Chad Henne tossed a pair of costly interceptions. Michigan's defense got tricked by misdirection in crucial situations.

Mistakes like that are supposed to be deadly, especially against a defending National Champion in a hostile environment.

But this time around the Wolverine miscues were just a sidenote - not a cause of misery.

Hart's two touchdowns made the fumbles sting less. Henne threw for a career-best 373 yards and tossed more touchdowns (three) than interceptions. And the Wolverine 'D' yielded just four total yards during Florida's two final offensive possessions.

Yes, after a season full of almosts and what-ifs, the Michigan football team finally closed with an exclamation point instead of a question mark.

Defensive coordinator Ron English, who, like most of his fellow assistants, was having an involuntary swan song, designed a gameplan that attacked Florida repeatedly.

Pressure, the word the highly scrutinized coaches leaving this program know all-too-well, ended up being the defense's greatest asset.

Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, who, like secondary coach Vance Bedford, is saying goodbye to Michigan for a second time, also put together one of his finest gameplans. Between a season-high 40-plus plays in spread formations, numerous handoffs to wideout Mario Manningham and even a pass to All-American tackle Jake Long, DeBord proved he actually knew there was life beyond the zone left run.

"They put in all this hard work game planning, and they could have been at Disney World having fun with their kids knowing that they didn't have a job here," senior Jamar Adams said. "This is the character that Michigan has. This is the part of the program that's character-built. It's respect. It's loyalty. That's what they showed."

Character, respect, loyalty? Sounds like someone we know.

The outgoing senior class, some of the most highly decorated individuals in the history of the storied program, finally put together a memorable team accomplishment in its last chance to do so. It was a great ending for some soon-to-be NFL stars who were 0-7 against Ohio State and in bowl games before Tuesday's win.

But in the end, the day was Carr's. And rightfully so.

Icing on the cake sweet as can be

Lloyd Carr was always going to be remembered fondly by most unbiased observers.