The 38-point drubbing was the worst bowl loss in Michigan's storied history and might have sealed Rodriguez's future. His three-year tenure has been tainted by consecutive losing seasons, NCAA sanctions and late-season slides.

Rodriguez said all the speculation about his job was "the elephant in the room" during meetings and practices but insisted his team never "cheated the University of Michigan a day of work."

But defensive tackle Mike Martin said the uncertainty clearly affected Rodriguez.

"He's human, he's a man, a constant stress is going to wear you down," Martin said.

Asked whether he thinks he will return next season, Rodriguez replied, "You're asking the wrong person." This much is certain: Athletic director Dave Brandon couldn't have been pleased with Michigan's performance Saturday.

"After traveling back in the next day or two, I plan to sit down with coach Rodriguez to go through the evaluation I've been talking about for months," Brandon said a few hours after the Gator Bowl. "I probably won't have more to say until the back half of the week."

The Wolverines (7-6) were out of this one early, done in again by a defense that made a middle-of-the-pack Southeastern Conference offense look like a juggernaut.

"Disappointed, frustrated, and I think if you ask the players, they'll say the same thing," Rodriguez said.

Relf and Ballard posed problems all day. Relf completed 18 of 23 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns and added 30 yards and a score on the ground. Ballard ran for 76 yards. The Bulldogs (9-4) finished with 485 yards, had five fourth-down conversions and capped a surprising season with a dominant victory.

"We went from average to good and now we want the ability to go from good to great," said Mullen, the second-year coach who went 5-7 in his first year in Starkville, Miss. "Hopefully that [win] catapults us into the step from good to great."

Denard Robinson, the Big Ten's offensive player of the year, played every snap for Michigan and was dynamic as usual. He threw for 256 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 58 yards. But he got little help.

Now, he might get a new coach.

Brandon has not offered any public support for Rodriguez, who fell to 15-22 and 1-11 against ranked teams. Brandon has said he will evaluate Rodriguez after the game. Speculation has been that he will fire Rodriguez and try to hire Stanford coach and former Wolverines quarterback Jim Harbaugh to lead college football's winningest program.