Boubacar Cissoko found himself in a familiar spot during the waning moments of Michigan’s 35-10 loss to Penn State.

On the Wolverines’ sideline, the sophomore cornerback was lodged between the bench and the team’s space heater. Bracing himself with his left hand gripping the bench and his right on the heater’s handle, the fire from the source hit squarely at his knees.

For more than two weeks now, that should feel familiar — struggling to find his place between the hot seat and his teammates.

After starting in Michigan’s first four games, Cissoko was benched in the fourth quarter against Indiana and didn’t play in the next three games. His injured shoulder had been an issue earlier in the season, but Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez officially suspended Cissoko before the Wolverines’ Oct. 10 matchup with Iowa. The Detroit native began practicing with the scout team, and his status has been day-to-day since.

Rodriguez said last Monday that he had met with Cissoko nearly every day to discuss his personal and academic progress, consistently noting that it was “really up to him” when Cissoko would return. But on a Friday mgoblue.com walkthrough video, Rodriguez said Cissoko would participate against the Nittany Lions.

“He just kept working the last couple of weeks coming off of an injury and hadn’t played well early on, but I thought he got a little better as the week went on,” secondary coach Tony Gibson said after the game. “The last couple weeks he’s been working so we thought it was time for him to play again.”

Against Penn State, Rodriguez called on Cissoko midway through the first quarter. On third down and 4 with the Nittany Lions at Michigan’s 17-yard line, Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark’s pass opposite Cissoko fell incomplete and the Nittany Lions were held to a 34-yard field goal.

Cissoko came in sporadically throughout the game, mostly on third downs and never playing more than a few snaps at a time. On his limited opportunities, Cissoko was not exploited opposite junior Donovan Warren. Penn State concentrated mainly on Warren, meaning Cissoko didn’t look particularly overmatched in big plays as he had earlier in the season.

“Boubacar just came back with a vengeance,” Warren said. “You know he worked hard in practice this week. Got the coaches to trust him real well. This was just a matter of them having confidence in him, and they got confidence in him.”

When Cissoko played, the Wolverines made major adjustments in the defensive backfield. Junior cornerback Troy Woolfolk, who had filled in at corner in Cissoko’s absence, moved back to safety and replaced redshirt sophomore Mike Williams. Woolfolk played alongside redshirt freshman Jordan Kovacs. When Cissoko came out, Woolfolk and Williams returned to their starting spots.

“We didn’t know what was going to happen with Boubacar — don’t make me say his last name — Cissoko,” Penn State quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said. “We saw him on the field and said, ‘OK, they’re probably going to move No. 29 (Woolfolk) back.’ It didn’t create a lot of adjustments for us, but you do want to know who’s where and what they’re doing.”

Cissoko’s future this season is still in limbo. Rodriguez said after the game Cissoko will continue to play “unless he screws up again,” but as a whole, the Wolverines are happy to have Cissoko back.

“I’m happy not just for Boubacar, but for all my teammates,” outside linebacker Brandon Herron said. “But Boubacar, he’s got a little issues that needed to get corrected and coaches needed to do what they needed to do to get him back. ... Hey, the slogan’s, ‘We’re all in for Michigan,’ and we don’t want to see one of our teammates fail. Just to bring him back and help him is a pleasure.”