Rich Rodriguez was unusually calm — oddly calm, really — a few minutes after his team’s embarrassing 25-point home loss to Penn State. No sarcastic, biting comments. No cutting reporters off or snapping back at them when they said something he didn’t want to hear.

He was introspective and reflective, talking about how the coaches need to be patient with his freshman quarterbacks and be more accountable for the team’s mistakes. After spitting fire when his team lost in the game’s last minutes to both Michigan State and Iowa, his change in demeanor was more than a little unnerving.

But it made sense. After all, in the Wolverines’ first blowout loss of the season, he had already had two quarters’ worth of time to resign himself to the fact his team had been outplayed. With two close losses to Big Ten teams already in Michigan's past, Saturday’s Penn State game was truly the measuring stick for these Wolverines — and they fell disappointingly short.

Senior defensive end Brandon Graham didn’t quite agree.

“It’s all about how you finish,” he said. “People not gonna remember this right now, they’re gonna remember how you finish.”

He wasn't talking about the end of the year last week, though, when he and his teammates said eagerly that the Penn State game was the start of their "second season." Other Wolverines said Saturday's game would be a step on the road to reviving Rose Bowl and Big Ten championship hopes. It’s funny, then, that the moment this week’s ‘L’ was recorded, Graham feels this game all of a sudden won’t be memorable.

But for now, let’s go along with that logic. That means that we shouldn’t remember Michigan’s thriller over Notre Dame — where Tate Forcier proved he’s quite an impressive freshman quarterback — and Michigan’s comeback victory over Indiana. After we forget about those, what’s left to remember isn’t pretty.

Michigan had the perfect opportunity to make a statement this weekend against a big-time conference opponent. David Molk was finally back at center. Forcier practiced all week for the first time since he injured his shoulder exactly one month ago. Denard Robinson was coming off a confidence-building pass performance last week. The whole team should have felt a little better about itself after last week’s 57-point win, even if it was only against a Division 1-AA team.

But instead, the Wolverines fumbled and bumbled their way to a 2008-esque embarrassment. Turnovers were a massive problem in last year’s debacle of a season, and they returned in shocking force Saturday.

Robinson’s second-quarter interception after the team got two first downs killed the drive.

Carlos Brown’s fumble at the Penn State 20-yard line two plays after Graham blocked a huge punt killed the momentum.

And the interception on Forcier’s last stand killed the game, a fitting end to what had been reduced to a hopeless comedy of errors.

“It’s a bad day,” Graham said. “It was just hard. It’s just hard because we prepare so hard and everybody wanted it and it was just a bad day.”

But in reality, the bad day is probably what should have been expected. Four of the Wolverines’ five wins have been against the second-worst team in the Big Ten, a poor Division 1-AA team and two Mid-American Conference teams. For the most part, the Wolverines have won the games they should have won and lost the games they should have lost — and after last season’s finish, that’s acceptable.

I predicted at the beginning of the year that Michigan would finish 6-6. That looked pretty stupid after the Wolverines started 4-0, but Saturday’s result made it seem a lot more possible. With Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio State remaining, Michigan could very well limp to the finish line, and that’s a depressing prospect. Forcier and the Wolverines’ play just one month ago had almost made a New Year’s Day bowl feel like more than just wishful thinking.

The freshman is still a talented quarterback, and still seemed nearly as confident Saturday as he was after Notre Dame. But Saturday showed what we have been suspecting for a few games now — his freshman year has finally started. Excluding Michigan's first possession, a 70-yard touchdown drive in which Forcier was 3-of-3, the freshman completed 10 of 27 passes for 106 yards. He was sacked five times.

“I don’t know if one game can really define you either way, good or bad,” Rodriguez said after the game.