The Wolverine Now

NOV. 4, 2012 mindset. When the time came to throw the passes, he delivered. The junior slid behind center for ailing NEXT MAN UP D evin Gardner faced one week to trans- form himself back into a quarterback senior Denard Robinson and enjoyed the best performance of his career in a 35-13 push past Minnesota. He went 12-of-18 passing for 234 yards and two touchdowns, making certain the Wolverines (6-3 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) stayed in the thick of the Big Ten Legends Division race. Gardner enjoyed plenty of help, from a defense that allowed just 13 points, to receivers making some of the most spec- tacular catches of the year. But the pressure clearly centered on the young man behind center, and he ranged from the steady to the sensational. "I think he did a nice job of managing the team," U-M head coach Brady Hoke said. "I think we had four drives over 79 yards and possessed the ball a little bit. I thought he did a great job." Those touchdown drives — of 91, 90, 86 and 79 yards — felt like a page out of 1990s Michigan football, albeit without the dominant run game. Redshirt junior run- ning back Fitzgerald Toussaint managed 70 yards on 13 tries, but the Wolverines needed a major dose of timely throws and savvy receiving efforts to pack away a win, along with the Little Brown Jug. For a while, the Wolverines were going Devin Gardner Steps In For Shoelace And Ties Up Minnesota BY JOHN BORTON nowhere. After a scoreless first quarter played mostly on Michigan's end of the field, the Gophers broke through first. Following a shanked 22-yard punt, Minnesota took over on the Michigan 43. Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson (13-of-29, 142 yards, one TD) picked his way downfield, getting down to the Michi- gan 10 in five plays. From there, he rolled 35 13 right, drawing the entire U-M defense with him. He tossed back left to a wide-open fullback John Rabe for a breakthrough touchdown pass. Seconds into the second quarter, the Gophers led 7-0 against a Michigan team that carved out a total of nine first-quarter yards. The Wolverines desperately needed to rally and respond behind Gardner, and he came up with a game-changer of a play. Digging out from their on 9 after a kick- off penalty, the Wolverines got into Min- nesota territory on some hard running by sophomore tailback Thomas Rawls (16 carries, 43 yards, one touchdown). An eight-yard sack put the Wolverines into a third-and-17 situation, but Gardner scram- bled like an impala being chased by lions to make something special happen. He rolled right, spun back to his left, Gardner completed 12 of 18 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception, in his first action at quarterback this season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL bought time and unleashed a 45-yard touchdown bomb to wide-open junior re- ceiver Drew Dileo (four catches, 69 yards, one TD), who had snuck away from cover-

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