The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 7E The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 7E RATKOWIAK From Page 3E Experience will solve some of thosein-gameproblems, andimprov- ing the product on the field will obvi- ously be the Wolverines' top priority. DesignatingaNo.t quarterbackfrom day one will help with team attitude and consistency. Rodriguez's on-the- field problems will be the easiest to fix because this year's freshmen will be sophomores, and that year of experience could be the difference in next season's close games. POSTGAME Losing is unacceptable, but a fragmented team is intolerable. There had been hints of it all sea- son, but the careful display of team unity the Wolverines tried to pre- serve all season finally crumbled Saturday. It had been starting to publicly unravel for a few weeks before- hand, when Rodriguez announced last week that Zion Babb and Jason Kates were no longer on the team. Others will certainly follow, includ- ing the still-unannounced but likely departure of sophomore safety Artis Chambers. Upperclassmen David Moosman and Terrance Taylor have both said more than once in the last few weeks that some of their teammates don't always understand the importance of playing hard. "Some people in the shadows that maybe have different agendas, we're weeding those people out," Moos- man said lastMonday. But it wasn't until Satorday that the team's disconnect became glar- ingly, embarrassingly clear, starting with senior Charles Stewart's fight with the coaching staff in the first quarter and ending with Brandon Minor stopping just short of calling his teammates out by name after the loss. "It's like some people don't even like leaving theirself when they step on the field," Minor said. "Can't really blame Rich Rod because everybody on the team didn't buy in like they were supposed to." Going into next season, Rodri- guez's first priority needs to be getting his team to act like a team again. He has said he wishes he got to know his players better on a personal level, and starting now, he should make sure he does that. In the end, Rodriguez said he hopes this 2008 season will be remembered as a "blip on the radar." With all the notoriety it has gained, that's doubtful. Tying a program-record, five- game losing streak within a season. Five more average points per game allowed this season than the previous worst Michigan defense. Five more losses than the Wol- verines had last season. That just means five months from now, with spring practice done and the start of seasontwo in the transi- tion looming, the Wolverines' prog- ress needs to be obvious. - Ratkowiak can be reached at cratkowi@umich.edu. TOP TEN HEADLINES OF 2009-2010 "Will Michigan wake up from its 3-9 nightmare?"- After the team's worst performance in school history, the Wolverine faithful have hope, at least for the Motor City Bowl. "Is the basketball team sweet enough for the Sweet 16"- After a great second year under John Beilein, Michigan looks to avenge last year's second round loss with nearly everyone returning. "Should RichRod use the Force?"- With one of the worst QB performance's in recent school history, will coach Rodriguez opt for true freshman standout Tate Forcier under center? "Who totes the rock?" - With team leader C:J. Lee lost to gradua- tion and Kelvin Grady in football pads, the basketball team has a hole at point guard. Is it freshman Darius Morris' spot to lose? "Can Hutch bring home another Title?"- Softball endured a tough loss in the College World Series, but with nearly every- one back, can it replicate its '05 Championship season? "Goalie Tendencies"- Michigan goalies dominate the regular season but just can't get it done when it counts. Will this year be different with Bryan Hogan between the pipes all season? "Quick to judge"- Will new defensive coordinator Greg Robin- son's "quick" position on defense make a difference? And who's going to be Robinson's first hybrid guinea pig? "Running away with a legacy"- Tiffany Ofili may have been one of the best athletes in Michigan sports history with five national championships. How does the track team replace a legend? "Pryor-itizing"- After the Terrelle Pryor recruiting debachle, RichRod is aiming at another Rivals No. 1 recruit - Seantrel Henderson. Can Michigan sign the OL cornerstone it needs? "King of his court"- Michigan tennis welcomes the nation's No. 1 recruit - Evan King - to Ann Arbor. Can King change the Big Ten landscape that has been Buckeye-dominated for so long? We DLIEVER tit 4am *" 7 days a week! 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"There are not factions among that team, it's all about the team. There's not, 'I'm not going to pass it to that guy because I don't like him,' It is not that at all. It's a very cohesive team. Again, that's a reflection of the leadership through the coaching staff." After a 10-22 season in his inau- gural year in Ann Arbor, Beilein faced many doubters. Could his system survive the Big Ten? Would he recruit better play- ers or just ones to fit his system? MINOR From Page 4E NO REGARD FOR HIS OPPONENTS Redshirt sophomore left guard John Ferrara remembered watch- ing an Illinois player lie on the ground after a kickoff late in the Wolverines' 45-20 loss Oct. 4. He didn't see what happened on the play, but he was told Minor deliv- ered the big hit. "I wasn't really that surprised because I know hard he comes all the time," Ferrara said. It doesn't matter if it's on spe- cial teams late in a blowout game or in practice - Minor plays hard. "He just really gets after it," said Ferrara, who played defen- sive tackle before this year. "He'll come downhill and he'll really put his face on you. A lot of running backs will try and juke out of the way. But there's times he'll go jack someone hard enough to knock him out." And could he lead Michigan to its first NCAA berth since 1998? "Naw, I didn't," Jackson said when asked if he thought Michi- gan would make the Tournament this season. "I think we set goals from the very beginning about where we wanted to be. And we've taken one of those steps today." Michigan is starting to follow the same path as Beilein's previ- ous teams: struggling to learn his system in the first year, bouncing back in the second and build a winning tradition. "When you're 10-22, you're not expecting (the NCAA Tourna- ment)," Beilein said. "I said it would bea roller coast- er.... I'm not trying totell anybody I'm wiser than anybody else, but experience tells you you're going to be up and down." And to be up in the middle of March is pretty good. Minor runs with a passion that makes it seem like he's trying to use each step to stomp out any doubts anyone might have had earlier this season. Minor has eight rushing eight touchdowns on 89 carries this year, a pace of a touchdown every 11.125 carries. Tom Harmon is the only Michigan season-rushing leader to run for scores more fre- quently, notching a touchdown every 10 runs in 1939. NO REGARD FOR HIS TEAMMATES Minor is one of Michigan's big- gest trash talkers, and he doesn't bring generic insults, either. "I'll talk about them personally - stuff they're sensitive about," Minor. Does anybody ever take it the wrong way? "Sometimes, they probably do," Minor said. "But that's what we need on the field." It doesn't matter if it's on spe- cial teams late in a blowout game or in yractice - Minor plays hard.