Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez must have known the second he lifted his arms into the air during the Michigan football team's end-of-the-year football banquet that he would be questioned about his impassioned speech.

And at Monday's football press conference, he was. Repeatedly.

"Every coach has his own personality," Rodriguez said. "I've always been emotional at our senior banquets. You feel so close to a team and particularly the senior class and I'm proud of the way they've hung in there."

Rodriguez has been taking some extra criticism since Thursday for the events of the banquet. At one point during the evening, the coach said, "I hope you realize that I truly want to be a Michigan man." Later, he had all the players join hands and became visibly emotional while a recording of Josh Groban's You Raise Me Up played over the loudspeakers.

"Everybody's going to have their opinions on things and that's fine," Rodriguez said. "I appreciate everyone's interest in what happened and what went on, and try to sensationalize it. I would rather talk about the bowl game."

The antics at the banquet prompted widespread response from Michigan fans, with many decrying what they perceived as Rodriguez essentially begging for his job.

Some have argued that Rodriguez's hold on his position grows weaker every day that goes by without a vote of confidence from his athletic director, Dave Brandon. Brandon has steadfastly insisted he will evaluate the coach after the bowl game.

So does that make the Gator Bowl a must-win?

"I think every head coach at this level goes into every game thinking, 'Boy, this is the game,' " Rodriguez said Monday. "I think people will try to put more importance on one than the other and I understand that ... but I think coaches put an enormous amount of pressure on themselves to win every game."

BOWL PRACTICES: Throughout the season, a lack of experience on defense has led to many execution issues on a unit loaded with first year seniors, especially in the secondary.

That's one of the reasons a bowl game was so celebrated. Sure, Michigan will be playing against Mississippi State in the Wolverines' first bowl game since the 2007 season, but Michigan is also drooling over the 15 or so extra practices they'll have to prepare for the Gator Bowl.

"The first practice will be Friday afternoon and we'll practice Saturday morning, then Sunday we'll be off," Rodriguez said. "Anywhere from 11 to 12 practices here and four to five at the bowl site."

The extra practices will be essential in helping the defense, which finished the season on a sour note, giving up 37 points to Ohio State on Nov. 27.

Junior nose tackle Mike Martin said any time players spend with coaches is time well spent.

"You improve any time you can get your work in," Martin said. "Whenever we get into a practice, we're always sure we're ready to work and get better."

The practices will focus on Mississippi State but also on getting players healed up and ready to play on Jan. 1. Junior wide receiver Darryl Stonum said he thought most of the players with nagging injuries will be as healthy for the Gator Bowl as they've been since week one against Connecticut.

Specifically, he said Michigan fans would likely see the most healthy version of sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson since the first week of the season.

"He (Rodriguez) told us there wasn't going to be too much beating our bodies up," Stonum said. "It's more individual drills, going over fundamentals. There won't be too much banging and scrimmaging and stuff like that. No need to beat ourselves up, might as well save it to beat up on Mississippi State."

PLAYERS STAND BY RODRIGUEZ: While the players were at the press conference to talk about Mississippi State, the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the Michigan football program and its coach was sure to surface.

But the players made one thing clear: they are standing by their coach.

"I don't think there's a guy on our team that's not supportive of coach Rodriguez right now," Ryan Van Bergen said. "If anything it just brings us together. We have our wagons circled around coach Rodriguez. Our team counts on him. We rely on him. We all have faith in him. The criticism stuff doesn't pull us apart like it might seem."

Added Darryl Stonum: "I'd be pretty devastated if anything happened (to Rodriguez). I'm pretty sure he'll stay here. ...