After Minnesota's 29-26 loss to Michigan on Oct. 31, Mitch Leidner's left knee brace was in tatters.
Every strap was broken, and the metal bar was bent from the Gophers quarterback being twisted and then slammed down on a sack by Wolverines linebacker James Ross.
"I was pretty lucky that I had it on there," Leidner said.
The third-down play was controversial because a roughing-the-passer penalty on Ross was reversed. The Gophers were forced to punt, and the No. 15 Wolverines scored the game-winning touchdown on the next drive.
In the Gophers' training room the next day, cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun tried to muscle the metal rod back into place.