ANN ARBOR -- For the Michigan football program, Saturday night gave them what could have been the worst possible situation.
For the second time in three weeks, the Wolverines were about to put an injured quarterback into the game, knowing that the first time had caused a national firestorm.
This time, though, it went a little better.
Despite an ankle injury that required a walking boot after the game, Devin Gardner went onto the field and led Michigan on a six-play, 29-yard drive that ended in Matt Wile's 37-yard field goal.
That doesn't sound like much, and strictly in terms of on-field performance, it was hardly a throwback to Tom Brady or Tom Harmon, but it was just what the Wolverines needed for an 18-13 victory over Penn State.
"Devin has proven himself as an outstanding leader over the years, and he played half of a game last season with a broken toe, so you know he is tough," Hoke said. "He wants to compete, and he told me that he wanted to go back in. I checked with the trainers, and they said he was good to go, so it was his choice."
With the game tied at 13 and both offenses struggling badly, it was clear by the end of the third quarter that the next score was almost certainly going to win the game. With Gardner and Shane Morris both on the bench, though, it didn't look like Michigan had much chance of getting those points.
Russell Bellomy had replaced Gardner after his third-quarter injury, and an already struggling offense had ground completely to a halt. Bellomy, playing for the first time in two years, had his first pass knocked down by Penn State tackle Anthony Zettel and his second one was dropped by linebacker Mike Hull on what would have been an easy touchdown return.
The Wolverines defense had shut down Penn State -- the Nittany Lions only managed 65 yards in a scoreless second half -- but Bellomy looked like the same quarterback who had gone 3-for-16 with three interceptions in relief of Denard Robinson in a 2012 loss to Nebraska.
After two series, most of which had been futile runs up the middle, Gardner got back into the game.
"I was in pain, but my teammates told me they needed me, so I had to get back out there," he said. "Things are a little tight around here when it comes to injuries, so I had to prove to the trainers that I was OK. They made me jog, and I guess you could have called it jogging, so I was back in. I had to work for it."
Gardner's teammates weren't surprised when he came back in.
"That's a tough guy," center Jack Miller said. "He was hobbling around, and we could tell he was in pain, but he didn't say anything and we didn't have to change the plays. That's all we needed.
"This is a great feeling, because we've had some tough weeks, and we came out tonight with an awesome crowd and got ourselves off the slide. Now we can enjoy the bye week and get some rest."
As usual, Hoke wouldn't discuss injuries after the game, but he was happy about having an extra week to prepare for Michigan State.
"It is certainly happening at a good time for us, because we have a few extra days for these kids to rest and for them to get away from football for a while," he said. "That last part is probably better for them than for me, because I worry about them, but they need it right now."
Along with Gardner, two of Michigan's top offensive playmakers -- Devin Funchess and Dennis Norfleet -- had limped off the field, only to return later in the game. Wide receiver Jehu Chesson didn't play at all, and although Hoke said that Morris was cleared to play after an ankle injury and the concussion heard around the world, he sat out much of the pre-game warmup and didn't come in when Gardner went down.
That group, plus defenders like Jabrill Peppers and Willie Henry, will get time to heal before the trip to Spartan Stadium, where Michigan will be decided underdogs.
Hoke, though, isn't going to give up on this group.
"These are guys of character and guys with a tremendous amount of pride in themselves and as a team," he said. "They were ticked off when they knew they weren't playing the way they are capable of playing, and they did something about that tonight.
"With what this program has gone through, it would have been easy for everyone to just worry about themselves, but they've held themselves to a much higher standard than that."
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