U-M crush Gophers; MSU lose to Huskers; WMU beats CMU

Behind a three-touchdown performance by junior quarterback Devin Gardner, the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 35-13, at TCF Bank Stadium to keep possession of the Little Brown Jug and gain bowl eligibility for the 42nd time in program history. Gardner, who stepped in to replace injured senior quarterback Denard Robinson as the starter, garnered career highs in passing yards (234), touchdowns (2) and completions (12), connecting on 67% of his passes to lead the Michigan offense. He also added 21 yards and a score on the ground. The Wolverines' defense held its opponent to 13 points or less for the sixth time this season. Fifth-year senior linebacker Kenny Demens finished with 10 tackles, including one tackle-for-loss. Junior/sophomore linebacker Jake Ryan added nine tackles, three of which were for a loss.




A fourth quarter unlike any other this season was the key as the Western Michigan Broncos defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas, 42-31, on the road for the first time since 2002 and for only the second time since 1973. The Broncos entered the final frame trailing 23-14, but 257 yards of offense and 28 points were enough to get the job done, but it was a special teams play that sealed the deal. Trailing 31-28, the Broncos took over at their own 33-yard line. WMU's quarterback Tyler Van Tubbergen, who again threw for over 300 yards (362 on 23-for-33 passing) focused on his senior receiver Eric Monette. Playing his first snaps in this rivalry, he had a career day culminating with this drive. Van Tubbergen and Monette connected four times for 71 yards on the drive.

The signature play was a 31-yard completion down the near sideline over the defender to put the ball at CMU's 24. On the next play, Monette sneaked into the end zone to give WMU a 35-31 lead. On the ensuing kick off, with 2:51 on the clock, Rontavious Atkins striped the ball from CMU's Courtney Williams and Lewis Toler, who had five tackles on the day, came away with the ball. Facing third-and-five at the CMU 42, Dareyon Chance closed the door with the longest rush of his career, 42 yards for the touchdown.




Taylor Martinez threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jamal Turner with 6 seconds left to give the Nebraska Cornhuskers a 28-24 win over the Michigan State Spartans that kept Nebraska tied with Michigan atop the Big Ten Legends Division. The Cornhuskers (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) scored two touchdowns in the final 7:02 to erase a 24-14 deficit. The winning score was set up by a pass interference call in the end zone on Darqueze Dennard, which gave Nebraska the ball at the 5 when the Cornhuskers would have otherwise had to attempt a tying field goal. MSU's Le'Veon Bell ran for 188 yards and two touchdowns for Michigan State (5-5, 2-4 Big Ten).