STATE COLLEGE — After the Wolverines scored 17 points in the first quarter Saturday, it almost looked like they could pull off the improbable against No. 3 Penn State.

But there was no way the upset was going to happen. If there’s anything this season has proved so far, it’s that Michigan is incapable of playing well for four quarters — and after Saturday, it seems the team will have that problem for the rest of the year.

On Saturday, freshman Mike Martin tried to explain the collapse.

“It was a mental thing,” he said. “This whole game was mental. We came out ready and I don’t know what happened. I guess things slipped maybe, you know, mentally.”

But Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez sharply dismissed the idea of his team’s lack of mental confidence in his postgame press conference.

“I ain’t looking for perspective in the middle of a game,” he said. “All that mental stuff, whatever.”

By downplaying it, he's likely ignoring one of the real reasons why the Wolverines keep choking after one or two decent quarters — once they make a big mistake, the team fades fast.

The Wolverines weren’t close two weeks ago against Illinois, either. The game had originally looked promising when they jumped out to a surprising 14-3 lead in the first quarter, just one week after their unprecedented 19-point comeback against Wisconsin. Coming off the upset of the Badgers, the Illinois game initially looked like a one-time collapse.

After Saturday’s 17-7 lead over Penn State turned into a 46-17 defeat, the Wolverines were left struggling for answers that, game after game, obviously aren't there.

Two weeks ago, running backs coach Fred Jackson tried to explain the Wolverines’ collapse against Illinois.

“I said (in the first quarter), ‘This is what this offense is all about,’ and then you make some of the mistakes that we made,” Jackson said. “It becomes a situation where you don’t really know if it’s the youth or, it’s not necessarily inexperience.”

Michigan's youth and inexperience were painfully obvious Saturday.

Penn State looked like Michigan in the first quarter, botching a snap, fumbling and committing a stupid penalty while the Wolverines racked up 17 points.

But starting from their second drive in the second quarter, the Wolverines had three consecutive three-and-outs and started to fade.

If the second quarter raised suspicion, the third quarter provided proof that the Wolverines' mental mistakes were adding up.

Steven Threet began the half by recovering his own fumble, marking a return to the sloppy play the Wolverines had avoided in the first half. On the next Michigan drive, the Nittany Lions sacked backup quarterback Nick Sheridan in the end zone for a safety to put them up for good.

That's when it was clear the Wolverines wouldn't come back. Penn State easily pulled away as Michigan watched, and the Nittany Lions' 80-yard touchdown pass with two minutes left in the game was just rubbing it in. It was a slap in the face for the Wolverines, a reminder they were way over their heads, that they have been all year and that likely will be for the rest of the season.

Yes, the play-for-60-minutes issue has gone hand-in-hand with the lack-of-execution issue all season. But it was never more glaring than on Saturday.

“We’ve got to put it all together,” offensive coordinator Calvin Magee said after the game. “It’s got to be four full quarters, and at some point, the guys got to start believing.”

It’s seven games into the season.

By now, they should have done more than just believe.

— Ratkowiak can be reached at cratkowi@umich.edu.