All of the Michigan football team’s issues and concerns from the last month seemingly vanished right in front of the Big House crowd shortly after the start of Saturday’s game.

Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier, who hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass in more than a month, threw a 43-yard strike to slot receiver Roy Roundtree and racked up 139 yards in the first two quarters.

Senior Brandon Minor, after battling a pesky ankle injury all season, had already notched his first 100-yard performance since the Notre Dame game, and he got it before the break.

The defense broke its month-long turnover-less streak, intercepting two Joey Elliott passes before halftime.

And the Wolverines finally pounced on a apparently lesser opponent, cracking open a 24-10 halftime lead 748 days since the last time Michigan grabbed its sixth win of a season and clinched a bowl berth.

If only games lasted 30 minutes.

For the second week in a row, Michigan (1-5 Big Ten, 5-5 overall) outplayed an opponent in the opening stanza only to collapse in the second half, losing 38-36 to the Boilermakers and first-year head coach Danny Hope. Last week, the Wolverines lost to Illinois 38-13 after leading 13-7 at the half.

In the last two games, the Wolverines have been outscored 58-12 in the second half against teams that have compiled a combined 16-27 record over the past two seasons.

“The effort may be good but the execution’s not,” Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. “And you just can’t give up cheap touchdowns. … They were too late. Those are avoidable mistakes and I wish I could tell you why they happen. They certainly can’t happen.”

With the loss, four teams currently have an unblemished 2-0 record in the Rodriguez era: Michigan State, Penn State, Illinois and Purdue.

The Wolverines currently sit at 10th in the conference in pass defense, seventh in rush defense, ninth in pass offense, last in red zone offense, last in time of possession, last in turnover margin and 10th in the overall standings.

“I don’t have a magic wand and can’t fix this right now,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve said it a bunch of times. Some of our problems are going to take a little longer to fix than anybody wants, but we’re gonna fix them. Just give us time. It’s not going to happen right now. ... I wish it would.”

Purdue (3-3, 4-6) was aggressive in the third quarter, deflecting a Forcier pitch-out, executing an onside kick, throwing a 54-yard bomb and scoring three touchdowns to erase Michigan’s two-score lead.

Once again, the defense was the center of Michigan’s woes, giving up almost 500 yards of total offense — more than 100 yards above Purdue’s average output this season. And the negative attention is definitely getting to the Wolverines.

When asked for a comment by members of the media after the loss, defensive coordinator Greg Robinson said, "Not today," and briskly walked toward Schembechler Hall.

Robinson and junior cornerback Donovan Warren reportedly shared strong words on the sideline during the game’s waning moments.

Defensive line coach Bruce Tall, whose squad has been the lone bright spot of the struggling unit, also declined comment.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” junior cornerback Troy Woolfolk said. “Everybody’s just clueless. We’re trying out there. We still go back every Monday and study. But game day, we just seem to forget stuff. I’m not sure what it is. We’re gonna get it fixed.”

With games at Wisconsin and home against Ohio State left, Michigan’s bowl hopes — even a spot in the less-than-illustrious Little Caesars Pizza Bowl — are dwindling.

But the team isn’t going to give up its postseason dreams.

“You’re right there, and you see it, and it’s in your sights and it’s slipping away from you every game,” left guard Steve Schilling said when asked about still being just one win away from bowl eligibility. “We’re going to keep fighting. We’ve got too much heart. And I’m pretty confident in our team and that we’ll be able to get to a bowl.”