Minnesota Sports Briefs: Back-up QB leads Michigan over Minnesota 35-13

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Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Devin Gardner filled in for an injured Denard Robinson and accounted for three touchdowns to lead the Michigan Wolverines to a 35-13 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers at TCF Stadium to retain the Little Brown Jug.

Robinson, who had started the previous 34 games for Michigan (6-3, 4-1 Big Ten), injured his throwing elbow last week in a loss against Nebraska and was unable to play. Gardner, who was recruited as a quarterback but had been playing wide receiver this season, got the first start of his career. He completed 12-of-18 passes for 234 yards and two touchdowns in relief of Robinson. He also ran for a touchdown and was intercepted once. Fitzgerald Toussaint gained 70 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Jeremy Gallon racked up 72 yards and a touchdown through the air. Jake Ryan anchored the Wolverines defense with nine tackles, including three for loss.

Minnesota (5-4, 1-4) quarterback Philip Nelson completed less than 50 percent of his throws (13-for-29) for just 142 yards and a touchdown. Donnell Kirkwood led the Gophers with 58 yards on 16 carries.

The Gophers struck first on the opening play of the second quarter when Nelson found John Rabe wide open for a 10-yard touchdown. The score appeared to put a jolt in the Michigan offense, as they marched right back to tie the score at 7-7. Gardner didn't miss a pass on the 12-play drive, and despite being sacked to set up a third and long, launched a 45-yard touchdown pass to Drew Dileo.

Another long drive for Michigan later in the quarter led to Thomas Rawls' two- yard touchdown with less than a minute left until halftime. The drive almost stalled after Gardner's third down pass fell incomplete to Devin Funchess but a pass interference flag gave Michigan a fresh set of downs, and Rawls scored on the very next play. Minnesota managed to get within field goal range but Jordan Wettstein's 55-yard attempt missed wide left, and Michigan led 14-7 at the break.

Minnesota had the opportunity to put points on the board early in the third quarter but failed to convert a fake field goal attempt. Gardner led Michigan down the field on the ensuing drive, completing a 10-yard fade to Gallon to put the Wolverines ahead by two scores.

Wettstein began the fourth quarter with a 26-yard field goal to cut the Wolverine lead to 21-10. But Gardner continued to carve up the Gophers defense, completing a deep pass to Roy Roundtree before pounding it in himself for a two-yard touchdown run. Toussaint's 41-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter completed the scoring.

Michigan has now beaten Minnesota in 21 of the last 22 matchups and five straight. The Wolverines improve to 72-24-3 all-time against the Gophers, and 68-22-3 in games that handed out the Little Brown Jug.

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The Golden Gopher women's basketball team escaped with a 66-56 exhibition win over Minnesota State-Mankato yesterday at Williams Arena. Micaella Riche scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Minnesota. Riche is from Gloucester, Ontario. Ali Wilkinson of Blue Mounds, Wisconsin netted a game-high 24 points for MSU-Mankato. Wilkinson also has 11 boards.

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The tenth-ranked University of Minnesota volleyball team rallied from a two-set hole and beat No. 15 Ohio State three-sets-to-two yesterday in Columbus, Ohio. The win pushed the Golden Gopher record to 20-5 on the season and 11-3 in the Big Ten. Minnesota is at Michigan State on Friday and at Michigan on Saturday of this week.

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The Houston Aeros split a pair of games this weekend. The Aeros defeated Oklahoma City 4-3 but fell to Grand Rapids 2-1, both in a shootout. Houston is back on the ice Thursday at home against Toronto. The Aeros are the Wild's AHL affiliate.

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The labor battle between the NHL and Players' Association reportedly moved in a positive direction over the weekend. Multiple outlets are reporting the two sides met at an undisclosed location on Saturday and gained "traction" towards an agreement. The two sides are set to meet again Tuesday in New York.

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Jimmie Johnson took advantage of a late caution and passed Brad Keselowski with less than two laps to go to win Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the second straight win for Johnson and helped him increase his lead over Keselowski in the Chase for the Sprint Cup to seven points. The Chase heads to Phoenix next week before wrapping up at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 18th.

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