Season wrap: Michigan football team's below-average season earns below-average grades

Offense

Quarterback Tate Forcier, like the offense in general, showed flashes of brilliance mixed with bouts of inconsistency. The true freshman led game-winning drives against Notre Dame and Indiana, but his careless ways cost the Wolverines in losses to Michigan State, Iowa and Ohio State. Injuries to center David Molk and running back Brandon Minor were tough to overcome, but several promising replacements emerged late in the season. Vincent Smith is the favorite to start at running back next year, Patrick Omameh has potential on the offensive line, and Roy Roundtree had a breakthrough final month. Grade: B-minus

Defense Michigan finished last in the Big Ten in rushing, scoring and total defense in conference games, and, worst of all, appeared to regress as the season wore on. In losses to Penn State, Purdue, Illinois and Wisconsin, the Wolverines gave up 99 second-half points, and just once (on a disputed Donovan Warren interception against Indiana) did they get a stop when it mattered. The biggest problem was up the middle, where Michigan juggled starters at safety and middle linebacker without finding a solution. Defensive end Brandon Graham, the NCAA leader in tackles for loss, was one of the few bright spots, and Warren finished with 4 picks, most by a Wolverine since Leon Hall in 2005. Grade: F

Special teams Punter Zoltan Mesko was one of the best in the nation, Darryl Stonum set a school record for kick return yardage and Graham blocked two punts, but there were more glaring breakdowns than good spots. The on-side kick and missed extra point against Purdue, Greg Mathews’ muffed punt against Iowa, an ill-conceived fake punt at Michigan State, and Brandon Smith’s roughing-the-punter penalty against Wisconsin. Take out any of those plays and maybe Michigan wins one more game and gets to a bowl. Grade: D-plus

Coaching Rich Rodriguez and his staff deserve credit for rallying players together amid so much turmoil at the start of the season, and they deserve just as much blame for the total collapse the last two months. Michigan melted mentally at the first sign of adversity against Illinois, the Wolverines were badly outcoached by Purdue, and it was a mistake to play Denard Robinson on the final drive against Iowa. Beyond that, defensive coordinator Greg Robinson had a disastrous year implementing his 3-4 defense, and Forcier showed minimal improvement after his hot start. Michigan may have been hamstrung by talent, but there’s no excuse for 5-7. Grade: D-plus

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.