Two weeks ago, after Michigan survived against Notre Dame in a thriller, Wolverines junior quarterback Devin Gardner was being mentioned as a Heisman candidate and a future NFL star. Man, that seems like a long time ago.
Saturday night, Gardner played a mediocre game for the second week in a row, but Michigan still was able to rally past a bad Connecticut team, 24-21. Michigan scored the last 21 points in the final 21 minutes to avoid what would've been a huge upset. It was the second week in a row Michigan avoided an embarrassing setback. Last week, the Wolverines barely held off Akron, which has beaten one FBS team in the past four seasons.
Gardner was 11 of 23 for 97 yards and two interceptions; he also was sacked three times and lost a fumble. He committed four turnovers last week and afterward Akron coach Terry Bowden called Gardner "a little reckless."
Against UConn, Gardner did rush for 64 yards and a TD, a 17-yarder that provided the first points of the game. Michigan's rushing attack finished with 192 yards and was the key component in the win.
Gardner's completion rate for the season dropped to 57.4 percent and he has tossed more picks (eight) than touchdowns (seven). He seemed rattled by UConn's pass rush and his footwork was poor for much of the game.
Michigan is off next week, then starts its Big Ten schedule with a visit from Minnesota on Oct. 5. The second and third Big Ten contests are against Penn State and Indiana.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
