As quarterback Tate Forcier drove the Michigan football team down the field a month ago, seconds ticking off the clock, things changed. Circumstances changed. And when Forcier found Greg Mathews in the end zone to beat Notre Dame with 11 seconds left, expectations changed.

Should they have?

Before the season started, many felt going from 3-9 to a bowl-eligible 6-6 or 7-5 would be a good degree of progress. Michigan had a freshman quarterback, a first-year defensive coordinator and a bunch of defensive questions.

It had a kicker, Jason Olesnavage, who had never kicked in a game and the Wolverines were a season removed from having a poor return game.

Yet when Michigan beat Notre Dame, everything changed. The Wolverines were all of a sudden thought of as a top-three team in the Big Ten, jumped into the Top 25 and visions of New Year’s Day bowl games danced in people’s heads.

Since then, Michigan has been dissected like a team with issues. Forcier bruised his shoulder and struggled through the past three weeks. Both running backs - Brandon Minor and Carlos Brown - have played through injuries. Michigan’s defense has ranged from spotty to decent. And the Wolverines, who also had the comfort of playing four straight games at home to start the year - all wins - went on the road into two hostile environments and lost at both Michigan State and Iowa.

You know what? That’s fine. It should have been expected. Michigan is, for all intents and purposes, still on track.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is known for his second-year turnarounds and providing the Wolverines hold to form the rest of the season, Year 2 of Rodriguez should be considered a success from where it started.

“I'm not happy with the two losses,” Rodriguez said. “I think, again, there were two pretty good teams in tough environments. But there were also moments where we'd like to have back. Whether it's unforced errors. They forced some of the errors, but there were a lot of errors that were unforced.

“Whether it was it was on offense or defense. You'd like to have those back, and all of a sudden maybe you won those games or sneaked one of those out.”

That is the hallmark of a young team. Mistakes will happen. There will be letdowns.

There have also been answers.

Michigan has found its quarterback, whether he is beat up and battered or not. Forcier has shown precocious moxie and an ability to change his play quick, especially in fourth-quarter comebacks - of which, he has led three in five games.

It found a kicker in Olesnavage, a reliable option who has good enough range to be a difference maker.

It has also discovered multiple questions on defense. Three cornerbacks have started opposite Donovan Warren, the latest being cornerback-turned-safety-turned-cornerback Troy Woolfolk. It found out Stevie Brown is much better playing closer to the ball at linebacker than he did a season ago at safety.

It saw a team that has improved in run defense each week with a defensive line that has solidified itself.

And, well, Michigan knew Brandon Graham was already one of the best players in the Big Ten going into this.

But the defense seems unable to stop long third downs. The linebackers, save Brown, have been inconsistent. Michigan’s secondary is being picked on from accurate quarterbacks like Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen to inaccurate ones like Iowa’s Ricky Stanzi.

All of this adds up to a team that is going to surprise people, both good and bad. The rest of the way there are three games that look like losses - at home to Penn State and Ohio State and at surprising Wisconsin. There are also three games that look like wins - at home against Delaware State and Purdue and at Illinois.

This scenario is possible, as are almost any other with this team save for a loss Saturday to a mediocre Football Championship Series team. Michigan is young enough, and shown enough ability, to be competitive in every game left on its schedule.

That’s progress from a year ago and enough to make the rest of this year interesting, to say the least.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.