How would you feel if someone was ringing a cowbell inches from your face?

At one point during Saturday’s Michigan football practice, redshirt junior center David Molk took freshman punter Will Hagerup’s cowbell and threw it against the wall — all in good fun, of course.

Molk and the rest of the quarterback-center tandems practiced snaps serenaded by a group of cowbells, a simulation of the tradition Mississippi State fans will continue at the Gator Bowl.

One defensive player even yelled, “We want more cowbell,” from the sidelines during a scrimmage, referencing a Saturday Night Live skit featuring Christopher Walken.

The Southeastern Conference limited fans' use of cowbells to dead-ball situations this season.

But during the Gator Bowl press conference on Dec. 6, Gator Bowl President Rick Catlett said Mississippi State fans would be allowed to bring their cowbells and would not face any restrictions.

During the press conference, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez related his experience with the Bulldogs’ cowbells when he was at West Virginia and his Mountaineers played Mississippi State.

"To try to prepare for the road game at Starkville, we purchased a bunch of cowbells and were running them all week in practice — our guys were annoyed with it," Rodriguez said. "One of the folks at West Virginia called one of my guys and said, 'We still have those cowbells in storage. You think you need that?' So we may try to get those cowbells back.”

He continued, “We’ll hear a lot of cowbells, so our guys will hear them here in practice the next few weeks.”

Most of the practices in preparation for the bowl have resembled spring practice, where players focus on fundamentals. After Sunday, practices will follow the game plan the Wolverines will use against Mississippi State.

Rodriguez said the team’s routine in Jacksonville will be similar to that of a regular season game because the Gator Bowl is on a Saturday.

Michigan will practice early in the morning on Dec. 22, and then the players will have a few days off for winter break before the team arrives in Jacksonville on Dec. 26.

MEDICALLY SPEAKING: Freshman quarterback Devin Gardner may get the chance to be a freshman all over again next season.

The Detroit native has suffered from back spasms for most of the season after spelling sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson during three of the Wolverines’ first four games. But Gardner hasn’t played since.

“He missed so much time with the back issue, we may try to seek a medical redshirt,” Rodriguez said at Saturday's press conference.

Rodriguez explained that the rules for a player to be eligible for a medical redshirt are two-fold: the player could not play in any of the team’s final six games nor could he play in more than four of the team’s first six games.

Gardner took two snaps against Connecticut, one snap against Notre Dame and he completed 7-of-10 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown against Bowling Green.

Rodriguez said junior wide receiver Martavious Odoms would not be eligible for a medical redshirt. Odoms played in Michigan’s first six games before breaking his foot. Even though he participated in a few drills with the team on Saturday, Rodriguez said he didn’t expect Odoms would be able to return for the bowl game.

NEWTON WHO?:When Mississippi State played Auburn’s quarterback Cam Newton earlier this year the Bulldogs held him to 136 yards passing and 70 yards rushing — meager numbers for the Heisman Trophy winner in a 17-14 Tigers win.

Michigan might be able to learn how Mississippi State defends a dynamic quarterback like the Wolverines’ own Denard Robinson.

“Auburn’s offense is similar in some respects, but it’s also different. And that’s typical of the spread. Every spread is a little bit different. Rodriguez said. “We’ll watch that and maybe get a little bit of an idea. But with so much time from that game, which was earlier in the season, until now, you’ve got to figure they’re going to do some different things as well.”

INJURY UPDATE: Rodriguez said on Saturday that he didn’t expect any of the players who were out for the season to return for the bowl game. But wide receivers Darryl Stonum and Junior Hemingway, as well as Robinson, are all healthy and back at practice.