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Posted on Mon, Nov 2, 2009 : 8:29 p.m.

Michigan, Rich Rodriguez still haunted by failed goal-line series

By Dave Birkett

In the 48 hours since Illinois stopped Michigan on four plays from the 1-yard line, Rich Rodriguez has relived the series countless times in his head.

“I don't think it's healthy to look back, but I think as coaches you have to,” Rodriguez said Monday at his weekly press conference. “You have to look at, ‘OK, on this play we could have called this play or we could have called this defense,’ and maybe that would have helped. That's the thing we eat ourselves up about. But at the end of the day you have to move on.”

Illinois scored 31 unanswered points after the goal-line stand to swing momentum in its favor and ran away with a 38-13 win, Michigan’s fourth straight Big Ten loss.

Rodriguez didn’t debate giving power back Brandon Minor, who sat most of the game with an ankle injury, his one and only carry on fourth down - officials ruled Minor scored on the field, but replays showed his elbow was down before he crossed the goal line - and called different runs on the three previous plays, all by Carlos Brown.

“If I had run the same play three times in a row, I'd think, ‘Geez, golly’, but it was really three different plays and three different schemes,” Rodriguez said. “That was part of it.”

The other part was doing something different defensively to stop Illinois on the ensuing possession, when the Illini went 99 yards in six plays for the go-ahead score.

"After that goal-line stand it became more mental," defensive end Brandon Graham said. "They just took over."

And now, with a chance to get bowl eligible this week with a win over Purdue, Rodriguez said Michigan can't let that drive define its season.

"I don't want our guys to hang their heads all week," he said. "You know the old saying, you don't want that game to beat you twice. Bad game, bad half. We've got to learn from it and move on and press forward, and I think we'll do that."

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

Comments

rightmind250

Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 9:35 a.m.

Tater, How many freshman start? 2

friend12

Wed, Nov 4, 2009 : 8:27 a.m.

"Rodriguez didnt debate giving power back Brandon Minor, who sat most of the game with an ankle injury, his one and only carry on fourth down". Minor or Shaw should have been in on all three downs. Carlos is great, but, is not a power back which was needed in this case. Maybe spreading things out (RR offense?) would have helped. Were back to a 1 dimensional offense and the same defensive scheme as last year. One last note Denard is very talented, but, he can't pass. How many interceptions and fumbles? How about recruiting a "tall" quarterback that can pass and run. How many passes have been knocked down? RR has brought life to UM, but, UM needs a more round coach and unless they get to a bowl game, his days are numbered.

DraderOHIO

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 1:38 p.m.

What I do know is Michigan needs to start winning games and winning games fast. I like Rich Rod system but I think there a lot of bad coaching calls durning games.I also understand Tate is a ture freshman. But what if we had a QB with the speed of DRob and the passing skills of Tate. What if the Defence could play good Defence..How would Michigan look this year if the defence could hold there own..This is why I say give RR one more year. The blame this year should be on the defence and the coaching staff. I never seen a defence leave the backfield wide open as much as I seen the last two years.

djuninho

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 1:22 p.m.

@ heartbreakM: Don't blame Lloyd for announcing his retirement after the OSU game in '07... it was an honorable thing for him to not wait a day longer than he needed to... Bill Martin deserves the blame for starting the coaching search before the regular season finished... He should have publicly stated that UM would not contact any coaches till all the games were settled...

saginaw

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 1:07 p.m.

I think that Mary Sue Coleman is great. But, giving up 400 yards to the Worst Team in the Big Ten is not Michigan Football.

heartbreakM

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 11:24 a.m.

drader--I see your point, and can't argue much. My thinking is that it was time for LC to retire. He somehow got behind OSU and had a mental block in that game toward the end (similar to Coop with Mich). But did we hire a coach to break it all down to....get back to LC's level? Is it worth it to endure 3 seasons of awful backward football (the likes of which none of us has seen in 40 years) to get back to that level? Are you confident that RR can get to the next level in the B10? If any of us knew the answers now, we'd be lotto players. I am more reluctant to admit to that, given what I've seen so far. And while I appreciate RR's honesty to questions, it disturbs me that he did not know at all what he was accepting as HC--again, shows that he did not know Michigan. And again, LC takes some blame for announcing when he was gone at a time where coaches could NOT say yes. And saline--that jumbo package is intriguing. But in 1995, LC's first year, he did that with Will Carr against a bad Purdue team and Will Carr promptly fumbled and we lost. Miserable day. So be careful what you wish for :)

mlivesaline

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 10:42 a.m.

How about putting together a jumbo package for those short yardage situations? Put Brandon Graham in as a running back and see if anyone can stop him for a yard.

wolver4ever

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 10:32 a.m.

I too have been a UM fan for many years and was very disappointed in their performace last week, but I'm not ready to throw RR under the bus yet. Any coach should be given 4 years to develop their progam as long as you see improvement each and every year. Truly how many of you thought that UM would win more than 6 or 7 games this year? We are on that pace. I think we all got greedy after a 4-0 start and two close loses to MSU and Iowa. Yes I too start thinking BCS bowl after September, but now this is a reality check. The freshman are playing like freshman. The post that think there is an agenda with D-Rob must not be watching the games. I am a D-Rod fan, but at this point he demonstrate he is not ready. He is too limited. He is fast but his passes float and has made some poor decisions with the ball. I think he is very talented and when Gardner comes in next year they need to find a place to put him on the field. You can not leave that kind of speed on the bench.

GoblueinNE_PA

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 10:25 a.m.

We only started losing to MSU every year after RR got here. Carr wasn't a great coach and that's why he's gone, but why is there this desire to excuse pathetic performance by the idiot running the show now? I just don't get it. We are not Northwestern or Indiana, some school that had to be resurrected from the garbage bin of college football. We are now and whomever follows this guy will have a true rebuilding project on his hands.

DraderOHIO

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 10:12 a.m.

Chosen1 Tate fumble the ball 3 times last game.. I will say Drob needs to be HB, or WR....I think Michigan would be better if Tate and DRob was on the field at the same time.

DraderOHIO

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 10:09 a.m.

HartbreakM You said "We cannot stand to see our players get coached poorly. We cannot stand to see losses with the same mistakes that we have seen time and time again.' Carr for how lon has coach poorly?? Lost the last 6 under Carr to Ohio State..If Rich Rod can Get a win over Ohio State it would go a log way.. I want to give Rich Rod one more year so we can see how Michigan can do with his recurting team. Give him one more year to get "his" team and see how he dose. If we start winning the Michigan State, Ohio State games these last 2 seasons would be worth it. What Good is it to have a winning season if we lose to Ohio State/Michigan State every year? To me loseing to the Buckeyes hurts more, But im from Ohio and have to hear them talk shit every year......GO BLUE!!!!

chosen1

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 10:06 a.m.

winning with denard???? LMFAO....yeah in 2 drives vs penn state he threw a bad int and fumbled the ball....yep those 2 great plays he made for penn state were signs how great he'd be....

djuninho

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 9:21 a.m.

@ heartbreakM: Can't agree with your more! A lot of us have been watching UM football for decades and can't stand to see our team struggle at the basics (blocking, tackling, holding on to the football)... Lloyd knew that playing on the road was gonna be tough in the Big 10, so he kept things simple to minimize mistakes. That meant playing the field position game, letting your O-line and D-lines dominate, and then scoring enough points to win by putting the ball in the hands of trusted players. We aren't living in Florida people... October-November in the midwest is all about survival in tough environments...

Fan

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 9:16 a.m.

It is clear to many that RichRod has chosen to loose with Tate rather than win with Denard. Call it like it is. What's the real hidden agenda?

chosen1

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 8:59 a.m.

8 starters on offense (rb, 2 wr, 5 olinemen) are 3rd to 5th year guys in the program. Graham, Brown, Williams, Warren, Woolfolk, and Mouton are also 3rd year to 4th year players. Actually I think RVB is a redshirt sophomore as well. That would be a minimum of 7 starters on each unit. 7 of 11 is a majority.

azwolverine

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 8:50 a.m.

Fresh, I agree that RR has to show something positive in the next three weeks. Further, I apologize in advance for potentially offending certain fans in my previous post. I don't think dividing the fan base is the action that needs to be taken right now. We all have our opinions and all support Michigan. While I admit there is a certain poster I almost always disagree with due to what I see as divisive comments and excuse making, I don't need to contribute further to that. Intelligent dialogue is what will unite the fan base whatever side of the RR issue you may be on. I'm all in for MICHIGAN.

Fresh121

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 8:36 a.m.

I dont think its all RR it doesnt matter who came in, The UM asked for someone to change the way we play football, even if it was les miles he still would need time to get his runnin Qb it is hard to watch the same mistakes its 50-50 coachs players man its on both of them. If we had some one like Charlie Weise were you have 5 years all your recruits and your not contending then there is a problem but RR needs to show in the next few weeks something. Go blue

azwolverine

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 8:25 a.m.

Heartbreak, Got your back, brother. While I do believe that most of the fans on both sides of the RR issue are still 100% behind Michigan, I feel that some fans, the spud especially, are more behind RR than Michigan. I wonder if those fans who wanted Carr out (Tater) took a vacation and came back when he retired. Don't be hypocrites (oh, too late). We all want Michigan to win. Hopefully if RR is fired, he will land on his feet somewhere else so those who pull for him ahead of Michigan can than go jump on THAT team's bandwagon. And oh by the way, you won't be missed.

oldmanblue

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 8:16 a.m.

I'm still all in. Go Blue!

heartbreakM

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 8:05 a.m.

tater and amaizenm: You guys are too funny. What is ironic is that we who are critical about Michigan in my opinion, actually care more about our team than you two blind supporters. We cannot stand to see a decades old standard of excellence destroyed by someone who knows less about Michigan football than the people on this board. We cannot stand to see our players get coached poorly. We cannot stand to see losses with the same mistakes that we have seen time and time again. In fact, you two are the same type of people who criticized LC and his staid offense and relative underachieving but are now patient enough of Rod to see a brand destroyed. Unbelievable. Look around the country--other coaches have come into programs in a lot worse shape than Michigan and had better results than Rodriguez who came into a pretty good situation. It's not change we are all afraid of. It's destruction. Unneeded dismantling.

amaizenman

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 7:22 a.m.

chosen1 you are wrong about that.

chosen1

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 6:52 a.m.

tater, most of the starters are juniors and seniors

kerch65

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 5:45 a.m.

They wont learn from the mistakes they make durring the game because these clowns continue to make the same damn mistake over and over they havent learned a damn thing the whole season they are regressing big time and its getting fans sick and tired of it all. This offensive line is soooo weak they cant get a guy in from the 1 (pansies) the defense theres nooooo hope these guys they are just pathetic except Grahm they cant stop anybody watching these guys play is like watching the lions on sunday a BIG WASTE OF TIME

kerch65

Tue, Nov 3, 2009 : 5:42 a.m.

They wont learn from the mistakes they make durring the game because these clowns continue to make the same damn mistake over and over they havent learned a damn thing the whole season they are regressing big time and its getting fans sick and tired of it all. This offensive line is soooo weak they cant get a guy in from the 1 (pansies) the defense theres nooooo hope these guys they are just pathetic except Grahm they cant stop anybody watching these guys play is like watching the lions on sunday a BIG WASTE OF TIME

Danny

Mon, Nov 2, 2009 : 10:21 p.m.

Don't beat yourself up anymore Rich. Do what you think is right and let the chips fall where they may. Whatever you do you will always be 2nd guessed. They are right, it does look bad,however you can't do anything about it now except win one or two of the last three. GO BLUE Dan in Georgia

azwolverine

Mon, Nov 2, 2009 : 9:34 p.m.

Uh, that goal line stand should not have lead to a complete mental implosion and 31 straight points by a team that hadn't even scored more than 17 in a full game all season. But, wait...that was Lloyd's fault, right RR? RR will explain why in more detail at the end of the season. I can't wait.

heartbreakM

Mon, Nov 2, 2009 : 9:33 p.m.

You know, RR could look at history, if he was familiar about M football that is, and learn from it. In 1990 (yes, the year RR stopped playing football himself), Michigan lost to MSU (when we were #1) and M was stopped 4 times on the 1 yard line. That was the Desmond game. We ended up losing the next week to Iowa also on a screwy 2 point conversion. Well, after that Michigan turned it around. It's not the only time in Michigan's history that 4 stops on the 1 happened. But teams get over it--and you must look at history to convince your players.