ESPN college football analyst Brian Griese disagrees with the negative sentiment swirling around Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner.
"It's not always sexy, but they won eight games a year ago," said Griese, a former Michigan quarterback who played 11 years in the NFL.
With Leidner's sometimes-sporatic play, the Gophers (1-1) finish the nonconference schedule at TCF Bank Stadium against two Mid-American Conference foes -- Saturday against Kent State (1-1) and then next week against Ohio (2-0) -- before heading into the meat of their schedule.
Once the Big Ten season starts Oct. 3 against No. 23 Northwestern, Griese believes Leidner can lead Minnesota to a Big Ten West Division championship.