By: Mike Lopresti (Cincinnati.com) -

This is what defeat looks like, at a place that has never known days so dark.

The freshman receiver for Michigan has tears in his eyes after losing to Ohio State.

“It hurts a lot,” Ray Roundtree says, “saying next year, next year.’ ‘’

The senior defensive end is somber, understanding he has never beaten the Buckeyes and now never will.

“I just think it was a humbling season for us,” Brandon Graham says. “I cried a little bit. I’ll probably cry later. I can’t let anybody see me sweat.”

And the second-year head coach, whose seat currently has the temperature of a hot plate?

“I’m a big boy,” Rich Rodriguez declares. “It’s a big boy business.”
Especially at the moment in Ann Arbor. Now comes the winter of Michigan’s discontent. Another one.
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No vindication for the Wolverines Saturday, just the last act of historic futility.

Michigan pushed Ohio State but lost 21-10. It could have been worse, since the Wolverines gave up 154 points their last four Big Ten games. Then again, the Buckeyes already had the Rose Bowl in the bag, and had little to play for except the pleasure of watching the Wolverines suffer some more.

Which, come to think of it, makes pleasant viewing in Ohio.

The Wolverines could have qualified for a bowl and saved something of their season with a win. “Like our national championship game to us,” Graham said. Alas, freshman quarterback Tate Forcier threw four interceptions and fumbled in his own end zone.

So the sixth straight defeat to Ohio State puts a 5-7 record next to the 3-9 of 2008. Consecutive losing seasons haven’t been seen here in 46 years.

The Wolverines dropped seven Big Ten games in a row. That’s never happened.

They finished in a tie for ninth in the league last season, and nobody around here wanted to see that happen again.

It didn’t. This year, they finished in a tie for 10th.

Like the man said, humbling.

“How much does a man got to be humbled?” Rodriguez said. “Got humbled last year, been humbled before, be humbled again. You get in this profession, there’s enough humility to go around for everybody.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE DIRECTLY FROM THE SOURCE PAGE AT CINCINNATI.COM BY CLICKING HERE.

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