Kornacki: A Valiant Comeback Comes Up Short

FINAL: Florida State 33, Michigan 32

Photo: Melanie Maxwell - MLive

The gods of football apparently are not the type of deities that can be appeased by sacrifice. First, all everything superstar Jabrill Peppers goes down with a hamstring pull the day before the game, and then All-American and captain Jake Butt goes down in the first half with an injury that Jim Harbaugh said is a probable ACL or MCL tear. You would think that no team could lose two players of that caliber and get a win against a team as good as Florida State, and it certainly looked to be the case at halftime, but Michigan rallied in the second half to out score the Seminoles 26-13 and looked like they were poised to cap off a victory when Chris Evans rumbled 30 yards to put the Wolverines up with two minutes to go in the game. It looked for a moment that the football gods had decided that Michigan had suffered enough in previous weeks, and that they would allow them to finish the 2016 season on a high note, but no, more suffering say these sadistic gods of football.

Having the OSU game and the way that one finished and this game back to back will leave a taste in the collective mouth of the UofM faithful that all the mouthwash in the world won't get rid of until the fall of 2017.

But that isn't to say that Wolverine players or fans have anything to hang their heads about. This team was filled with fight, and took two of the best teams in the country right down to the wire. A couple plays here, a couple calls there, and we're talking about a very different ending to the season.

So in looking for the silver lining in the very dark cloud that is currently hanging over Michigan football, you don't really have to look too hard to find some real positives. Khalid Hill, Maurice Hurst  and Mason Cole (and possibly Peppers) are all returning for an additional season. Wilton Speight and a deep quarterback roster will come back even better next season, and the 2017 recruiting class is shaping up to be one of the best in the history of Michigan football.

The program is losing some incredibly talented seniors whose abilities and leadership will be sorely missed, but such is the nature of college football. The football gods giveth and the football gods taketh away.

One thing Wolverine fans can be certain of, that doesn't involve any superstition, or any luck, or any calls, is that the program under Coach Harbaugh will always continue to make strides. And when this program is sitting on top of the college football mountain, people will look back at these games and see them for what they are... Just part of the process. Just part of the sacrifice a team and program makes to be truly great.