The rest of the defense didnt play inspired at all

Williams was sacked at the Illinois 24-yard line with about a minute left, but instead of using his second timeout, Rodriguez let the clock run before Illinois called timeout with 27 seconds left. A good punt and no return left Michigan with the ball at its own 11, and it subsequently took a knee, seemingly happy to go into the locker room with a six point lead. But why not take a time out with a minute left and give your offense another chance to score before the half I would have expected Carr to take the conservative route and take it into the half, but not Rodriguez, especially with two timeouts left. The only reason I can think of is that he wasnt comfortable with punt return-man Junior Hemingways ability to catch the ball. Turning it over in that situation would have given Illinois a great chance to take the lead and the momentum into the locker room But thats a chance he should have taken, in my opinion 4.

Why has the team quit the past two weeksIn Michigans first two losses, against Michigan State and Iowa, the team fought for the whole 60 minutes. It came back to force overtime against Michigan State and came within two of undefeated Iowa.But last week against Penn State and this week against Illinois, it seemed to just give up once things started going bad. The only defensive player that played every down 100 percent was senior defensive end Brandon Graham, and thats going to make him a great NFL player. He finished with four tackles (one-and-a-half for loss), a sack, and a blocked punt. The rest of the defense didnt play inspired at all.Maybe its the fact that the offense puts it in bad situations with turnovers, but when youre playing college football, its your job to give it your all every time And that effort was not there in the second half.5. Is Rodriguez too hard on the players and coachesOne of the common scenes on the sidelines this season and last has been Rodriguez chewing out his players and coaches after a mistake. Now, I know many people will say that they should grow up and take it, but I seriously have to wonder if his demeanor has an impact on how the team plays.

I dont have any data on it, but it seems that whenever Rodriguez goes off on a player, it has a negative effect on his play Im all for coaches yelling; it's what they do. But for a young team like this, that is still trying to grow and learn the system, maybe yelling in their face isnt the right way to get your point across. Its something to think about, but Im pretty sure Rodriguez isnt going to change his coaching style, so the players are going to need to adjust. So where does Michigan go from here It needs one more win to be bowl eligible, and two to be assured of a bowl game. Next week, Michigan hosts Purdue, which is probably the last winnable game left on the schedule if the team continues to play like this. The following week, Michigan travels to Wisconsin to play a team that just throttled Purdue 37-0. That game will be as tough as any game Michigan has played all season.Finally, Michigan hosts Ohio State in a game that very well could salvage the season. However, Ohio State's quarterback, Terrelle Pryor, is the same type of mobile quarterback that Michigan can't defend.The team needs to get its confidence back so it can finish the season strong and get back to a bowl game.