The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com November 9, 2009
Purdue quarterback Joey Elliott and the Boilermaker offense racked up almost 500 yards against the struggling Michigan defense.
'M' collapses in second
half for second week
Will the Wolverines go
bowling this year?
By ANDY REID halftim
Daily Sports Editor time M
win ofa
All of the Michigan football
team's issues and concerns from
the last month seemingly vanished
right in front of the Big House
crowd shortly after the start of Sat-
urday's game.
Freshman quarterback Tate
Forcier, who hadn't thrown a
touchdown pass in more than a
month, threw a 43-yard strike to
slot receiver Roy Roundtree and
racked up 139 yards in the first two
quarters.
Senior Brandon Minor, after bat-
tling a pesky ankle injury all sea-
son, had already notched his first
100-yard performance since the
Notre Dame game, and he got it
before the break.
The defense broke its month-
long turnover-less streak, inter-
cepting two Joey Elliott passes
before halftime.
And the Wolverines finally
pounced on a apparently lesser
opponent, cracking open a 24-10
berth.
If on
a
and
r
For t
Michiga
all) out
opening
the sec
Boilerm
coach D
Wolveri
after lea
In th
e lead 748 days since the last verines have been outscored 58-6 in
tichigan grabbed its sixth the second half against teams that
season and clinched a bowl have compiled a combined 16-27
record over the past two seasons.
ly games lasted 30 minutes. "The effort may be good but the
execution's not," Michigan coach
Rich Rodriguez said. "And you just
can't give up cheap touchdowns....
[ don't have They were too late. Those are avoid-
able mistakes and I wish I could tell
." you why they happen. They cer-
m aglc wand tainly can't happen."
,}. With the loss, four teams cur-
[can't fix th1s rently have an unblemished 2-0
record in the Rodriguez era: Michi-
right now." gan State, Penn State, Illinois and
Purdue.
The Wolverines currently sit
at loth in the conference in pass
he second week in a row, defense, seventh in rush defense,
an (1-5 Big Ten, 5-5 over- ninth in pass offense, last in red
played an opponent in the zone offense, last in time of posses-
g stanza only to collapse in sion, last in turnover margin and
oand half, losing 38-36 to the 10th in the overall standings.
nakers and first-year head "I don't have a magic wand and
anny Hope. Last week, the can't fix this right now," Rodriguez
ines lost to Illinois 38-13 said. "I've said it a bunch of times.
ading 13-7 at the half. Some of our problems are going to
e last two games, the Wol- See BOILERMAKERS, Page 3B
Every Sal
ine fans
Brandon
leader of the M
team. With each
for loss or bone
it's clear Gra-
ham leaves
every ounce of
himself on the
field.
But when
the game ends
and he's all
alone, it's a dif-
ferent, more
emotional
Brandon Gra-
ham than the
monster who
levels opponents,
"I wait until I
it all out," Grah
go home and th
sometimes it'll be
sometimes a co
Sometimes theyd
Graham share
a disgruntled fan
how a 4-0 start
turday, Wolver- into a 5-5 debacle. Looking at the
ee defensive end state of the Wolverines, there's a
Graham as the lot to cry about.
ichigan football Five straight conference losses,
ferocious tackle putting the Wolverines tied for last
-shattering sack, in the Big Ten.
Three consecutive second-half
collapses in which opponents out-
scored Michigan 75-12.
And one major question that has
yet to be answered: After winning
their fifth game on Oct. 17, will the
Wolverines win one more game to
become bowl eligible? Or will they
miss the postseason for back-to-
back years for the first time since
RUTH the mid-1970s, when no more than
LINCOLN one Big Ten team could go to a
bowl per season?
If you watch Michigan's best
each week. players like Graham, junior cor-
get home and let nerback Donovan Warren and
am said. "I just senior tailback Brandon Minor,
ink about it and that answer to the former would
eon my mind and seem obvious: yes.
uple tears drop. Against Purdue, Minor ran for
don't." three touchdowns and 154 rush-
s those tears with ing yards on a bad ankle. Warren
a base wondering grabbed an interception, and Gra-
quickly spiraled ham had his typical timely tackles.
That's the talent, leadership and
drive you would expect from play-
ers set to play in late December or
January.
But week after week, the rest of
the Wolverines have left much to
be desired. Michigan coach Rich
Rodriguez said before the season
that the Wolverines would make
a bowl only when they deserved it.
But examine the rest of the team,
and there's little reason to believe
that reward is coming.
Thelackofdepthatnearlyevery
position can't be fixed in the next
two weeks. Every Saturday, it's the
same mistakes. Rodriguez keeps
saying the effort is there but the
execution is missing. From what
Warrencalled"alot of mental mis-
takes" to completely blown sec-
ondary coverage, the Wolverines
simply don't look like a team that
can close out a game. With every
miscue, their bowl eligibility is
slipping further away.
For a senior like Graham, who
has been Michigan's brightestspot
during two seasons of constant
See LINCOLN, Page 3B
MEN'S SO~iCER
* Blue clinches No. 7 seed
in conference tourney
_with loss at Ohio State
RedHawks sweep Michigan at Yost
By CHANTEL JENNINGS
Daily Sports Writer
The Wolverines' plan needed
to be revised.
After almost 45 minutes, it
looked like the Michigan men's
soccer team would head into half-
time following an evenly played
opening stanza at Ohio State with
the teams tied 0-0.
But with just two seconds left
in the first half, the Buckeyes
changed everything.
Michigan freshman Noble Sul-
livan cleared an Ohio State corner
kick out of the box, but the ball
unluckily found the feet of open
Buckeye Chris Gomez on the far
side of the field. He sent the ball to
David Tiemstra, who fired a shot
from seven yards that ricocheted
off the underside of the crossbar
and to the back of the net.
"As a coaching staff, you kind
of have your plans formulated for
what you need to do differently
in the second half and then sud-
denly ... we have a quick amount
of time to reconfigure the plan for
the second half," Michigan coach
Steve Burns said.
The tally was the difference in
a game that decided much more
than a 'W' or a 'L.' The Buckeyes'
1-0 win gave them their first Big
Ten regular season title, buta loss
could have placed them as low as
seventh in the conference.
With the loss, the Wolverines
secured the No. 7 seed for this
weekend's Big Ten Tournament
in Bloomington. Michigan will be
See SOCCER, Page 2B
By RYAN KARTJE After the RedHawks took a
Daily Sports Writer three-goal lead in the third period,
the Wolverines began to lose their
Michigan coach Red Berenson composure.
lost his voice. Junior Tristin Llewellyn, senior
His team's 5-1 loss and subse- Chad Langlais and freshman Kevin
quent sweep at the hands of No. 1 Lynch all received 10-minute mis-
Miami (Ohio) on Saturday prompt- conduct penalties. The three major
ed Berenson to talk to his team penalties were all a part of Michi-
longer than usual in the postgame gan's 51 third-period penalty min-
locker room. With a raspy voice, utes.
after he had addressed the Wolver- "I'm embarrassed," Berenson
ines, he called the their weekend said. "We don't want to get into a
performance "the low point of the game like that. We played like a
season" thus far. bunch of spoiled brats, and we've
Following a rebound goal from got to suck it up. When you're get-
junior David Wohlberg, Michigan ting beat, you keep working hard
gave up five unanswered goals to for the team, you don't take it out
the RedHawks, who came to Ann on the other team or take stupid
Arbor with just three wins at Yost penalties that are going to hurt you
Ice Arena. further. That's not the way we play
But regardless of previous hockey, and this team' will learn
records, Berenson's concerns lie that."
strictly in the Wolverines' inability Adding to that loss of composure
to live up to their lofty potential. was an inconsistent performance
"It was like we were skating in in net from junior goalie Bryan
sand," Berenson said. "I don't know Hogan.
whether it was preparation, I don't After giving up a goal through
know if it was distractions, I don't the five-hole in Friday's 3-1 loss to
know, but that's what it was." See REDHAWKS, Page 2B
JAKE FROMM/Daily
Junior Chad Langlais missed on a penalty shot in Friday's loss to Miami (Ohio)..
The Managing Sports Editor was kicked
out of Yost Ice Arena for the 'C-Ya' chant.
He's not very happy about it. PAGE 2B.
The Michigan men's basketball team easily
took care of Wayne State in the Wolverines'
only exhibition of the year. PAGE 2B.