Minnesota player says Michigan's Devin Gardner "panics a lot"

The Michigan-Minnesota game is shaping up to be just another game. The teams do play for the Little Brown Jug but generally there's not too much excitement that surrounds this game. The rivalry has been fairly one side as the Wolverines have won 20 of the past 21 games. That hasn't stopped the Golden Gophers from feeling confident about themselves.

Despite being a 20 point underdog the Golden Gophers feel they have as good of a shot as anyone to knock off the unbeaten Wolverines. After narrow wins over Akron and Connecticut they feel the Wolverines are ripe for the pickings.

“Just the fact they almost lost to Akron, they’re human,” Gophers defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman said. “You know what I mean? Everybody praises them to be elite, and I just feel like they’re a regular football team. You just have to come with your A-game, but that’s how you approach every game.”

To add a little spice to the game, Minnesota safety Cedric Thompson told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner 'panics a lot' when he gets pressured.

“I think he kind of just panics a lot,” Thompson said. “I think that when he scrambles, he kind of just throws the ball.”

I'm sure those words will make it back to Ann Arbor. Hopefully for the Wolverines it'll be a little incentive to bring their best this Saturday. If not they could find themselves on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

Brady Hoke says Johnny Manziel would play behind Devin Gardner if he was at Michigan

Michigan head coach Brady Hoke made an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show to hype the upcoming game between Michigan and Notre Dame.

This game will be the last in the storied rivalry until further notice due to Notre Dame's ACC commitments.

During a question and answer session of the interview Hoke was asked about Texas A&M's Heisman winning quarterback Johnny Manziel. The answer Hoke gave Patrick surprised many.

Patrick:    "If Johnny Manziel's your quarterback …"

Hoke: "If Johnny Manziels's our quarterback, he'd probably be playing behind Devin Gardner"

"We try and educate the kids here that this has always been about the team, the team, the team," Hoke said. "If they're going to celebrate and they're going to express themselves, do it with your teammates. Do it with the other 10 guys who are on the field that helped you make whatever great play happen where you feel you need to celebrate. Grab a teammate. Get together with them."

Hoke isn't knocking Manziel's ability, just his character and being a good teammate.

Hoke obviously has faith in Gardner despite his relative inexperience, but any coach in the nation would probably take Manziel over their current starter unless it's Teddy Bridgewater or Tajh Boyd. If I left anyone out let me know.

This is what Hoke does. He sells his program and his players. He's all about Michigan and is intent on getting the Michigan brand into the conversation when you mention the elite programs in America. Besides, as a coach you have to pimp your own quarterback, even if he only has seven career starts under his belt.

Instilling trust in your players is part of your job, and this was the perfect answer.