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

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.