Auburn loses a heartbreaker to Michigan.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

ORLANDO, Fla. _ Auburn quarterback Ben Leard and wide receiver Ronney Daniels had their best games of the season in Monday's Citrus Bowl against Michigan. Unfortunately it wasn't enough to overtake the Wolverines as Auburn came up short in a 31-28 loss. It was Auburn's first loss under head coach Tommy Tuberville when scoring more than 20 points.

"Losing by three points is real tough because you can always say `what if I had did this or what if I had did that'," linebacker Dontarrious Thomas said. "When you lose by a lot you just say `well they beat us'. Maybe if we could've stopped them earlier we could've had an extra minute or so left in the game after our last touchdown. This definitely hurts more because the what ifs will always be in the back of your mind."

An extra minute might have changed the outcome of the game.

Leard pulled the Tigers to within three points after a 21-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Deandre Green with 2:26 to play in the fourth quarter. But with only two timeouts left, Auburn had to battle Michigan and the game clock.

Auburn's onsides kick attempt on the ensuing kickoff was unsuccessful and Michigan took over at the Auburn 46-yard line. Michigan got the first down they needed to run out the clock on a 9-yard run by quarterback Drew Henson on second-and-9.

"This was a typical game for us," Tuberville said. "We play all the way to the end of the game and that's the reason we were here today. We came up a little short at the end."

Auburn had a chance to pull within three points on the drive before its last touchdown, but Leard fumbled the ball after he was sacked by Michigan cornerback Jeremey LeSueur.