Michigan blows 16-point lead to fall in Outback Bowl, spoils Big Ten's perfect bowl season

— -- The Big Ten's chance at a perfect bowl season died at the hands of a bumbling Michigan offense.

The Wolverines blew a 16-point lead over the final 18 minutes of the Outback Bowl, losing 26-19 to South Carolina?on Monday. Coach Jim Harbaugh's team committed turnovers on three of its final four possessions and relinquished the ball on downs on its only other fourth-quarter drive.

Harbaugh was asked whether there was one thing he could point to that went wrong for Michigan.

"Yeah, one thing, it's being able to just kind of sustain the momentum, keep the momentum, and then get the knockout punch," he said.

Before the Gamecocks roared back from a 19-3 deficit with two and a half minutes to play in the third quarter, the Big Ten appeared poised to finish an unprecedented 8-0 this bowl season.

The league won its first seven postseason games -- all against Power 5 competition. No league has ever won more than five bowl games in a single season without a loss.

The Big Ten also won three New Year's Six games, as league champ Ohio State beat USC, Penn State defeated Washington and Wisconsin beat Miami. The success helped ease some of the sting inflicted on Dec. 3, when the College Football Playoff selection committee left the Big Ten out of the semifinals, choosing Alabama over the Buckeyes.

The other Power 5 league left out of the College Football Playoff, the Pac-12, finished 1-8 in bowl season.

Hours before the playoff took center stage, Michigan could not close the deal on the Big Ten's ultimate statement.

The Wolverines' woes began with a fumble by quarterback Brandon Peters in the final minutes of the third quarter. One play later, South Carolina converted the turnover into a score as? Jake Bentley?connected?with? Bryan Edwards?on a 21-yard touchdown pass.

After the Gamecocks took the lead less than four minutes into the fourth quarter, consecutive Michigan mistakes ensued: Peters threw an interception to? JaMarcus King and? Donovan Peoples-Jones?fumbled a punt return.

Parker White missed a 48-yard field goal for South Carolina with 1:43 to play, but Peters was intercepted by Steven Montac at the Gamecocks' 45-yard line to ice the win for South Carolina -- and ruin the Big Ten's chance to thumb its nose at the playoff.

"South Carolina got better as the game went on, no doubt, and made plays to win the football game," Harbaugh said. "We didn't get the knockout punch when we needed it and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities that were there."

Asked what the loss means moving forward for Michigan, which lost its final three games and finished 8-5 in Harbaugh's third season, the coach said: "We'll build off this game. Guys played hard, as did South Carolina. Another year in pursuit of excellence, that's how we'll look at it."

Harbaugh was asked whether this might have been his final game as coach at Michigan.

"No," he said.

ESPN's Dan Murphy contributed to this report.