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.