IOWA CITY — It seems to have become a common inside joke among Michigan football fans while watching a game. It doesn’t matter what happens on first and second down when the opposing offense has the ball, but hold your breath on third down — no matter how impossibly long it seems to be.

The Wolverines were often dominating on the first two plays, only to be caught napping on third and long. In Saturday’s 30-28 loss to Iowa, the Hawkeyes converted on 7-of-11 third downs in the first half, keeping the black-and-gold drives alive.

“All it really comes down to is communication and tackling, that we can communicate on the right calls,” junior Troy Woolfolk said. “We’re pretty much always in the right defense, we just execute that, you can be fine."

Nowhere were Michigan’s third-down woes more apparent than on a crucial drive midway though the second quarter. Cornerback Donovan Warren got beat twice on the drive: once on a perfectly thrown pass on third-and-six and again on a 47-yard bomb on third-and-24. The Hawkeyes eventually punched it in, took the lead and never relinquished it.

Warren, one of the Wolverines’ most consistent defensive players this season, locked up his side of the field for most of the day, including his pick-six 46 seconds after the opening kickoff. But those two defensive lapses severely hurt Michigan’s chances.

“It’s frustrating, but it builds confidence at the same time because you know you can stop them,” Woolfolk said of the third-down problems. “It’s just Michigan beating Michigan. Once we (fix) that, we’ll be able to play any team.”

Many of the third-down troubles can be attributed to breakdowns in the secondary, a position group that has been in flux all season. And that trend definitely continued Saturday.

Saturday marked the fourth time in six games that the Wolverines boasted a new-look lineup in the secondary. Against the Hawkeyes, Woolfolk switched from strong safety to cornerback across from Warren, while Mike Williams and Jordan Kovacs played safety.

But it was more about who wasn’t in Iowa City than who was.

What started with an odd Twitter message from the Associated Press’s Larry Lage became one of the biggest stories of the night —cornerback Boubacar Cissoko, who started the first four games, did not travel with the team.

According to Lage, he ran into Cissoko at an Ann Arbor fast food restaurant, and the cornerback said that he didn’t travel because he was “banged up." But after the game, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said the Detroit native was suspended for a violation of team rules.

“When he comes back, it’s really up to him,” Rodriguez said. “He’s got certain things he’s got to do, on and off the field, academically and all that, and if he does that, he’ll be back sooner rather than later.”

Cissoko hasn’t seen the field since the early goings of Michigan’s win over Indiana. He was pulled in the first quarter after he gave up a 57-yard bomb. Redshirt freshman J.T. Floyd subbed in and then recorded his first career start against Michigan State.

“He’s been solid in camp and in practice, and we’ve been kind of waiting for him to produce in a game, and he’s made some great strides,” defensive tackle Ryan Van Bergen said of Floyd after the Indiana game. “And it’s great to have a third corner going … through the Big Ten schedule.”

Floyd played well enough against the Spartans, but he was clearly the least aggressive of the three corners, giving a ten-yard cushion in some instances and not charging receivers on passes to the flats.

But Woolfolk’s switch to corner, his position before this season, put Floyd back on the bench and raises more questions about the most maligned unit on the team. The Wolverines are dead last in the Big Ten in pass defense, giving up almost 250 yards a game through the air, and the constant lineup shifts are proof that the coaching staff is still searching for an answer.

After all was said and done, the secondary gave up 284 yards Saturday, 50 more than the Hawkeyes' season average.

Going forward, Michigan seems to be taking the secondary situation on a week-to-week basis. Woolfolk said he had no idea whether he’ll play corner next week against Delaware State.

“I just play whatever they want me to play,” he said. “I have a good aspect to bring to the team because I can (be) versatile, so I’ll go to corner, safety, even quarterback if you need me to.”