He’s got the look, the skills and the speed, all while not bothering to tie his shoelaces.

He’s Denard Robinson, sophomore quarterback of the Michigan Wolverines – a young man that’s not only torching the record books in college football’s opening weeks – but also single handedly cooled off Rich Rodriguez’s coaching hot seat.

Robinson has been the talk of college football – and it’s showing across multiple fronts.  Michigan is back in the polls.  Also, Robinson himself is the current Heisman frontrunner.

Amidst all the flash and the flare – there’s simply way too much hype surrounding Robinson.

This is Michigan and the kid definitely has talent – but there can only be one conclusion for the hype machine.  College football is desperate for a fresh face to hang its hat on.  Robinson is the face of a flashy quarterback and a perfect match.

Gone is “The Chosen One”, Tim Tebow.  Also gone are Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford.

Who was left when the dust settled?

While talent-wise some may be quick to point out high-projected draft picks like Andrew Luck and Jake Locker, but it’s often that west coast schools like Stanford and Washington will get passed by when focusing on the national picture.

After all, many would argue that Toby Gerhart – Stanford grad – had the best numbers for the Heisman in 2009.

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Is Michigan’s Denard Robinson the new “Chosen One” in college football?

Therefore, at this point in the season, Robinson and Michigan make sense as the new face.  But Heisman material?

Has anyone actually looked at the type of football players that are winning the Heisman trophy over the last number of years?

Apparently not.

It’s not just gaudy numbers that wins a player the Heisman trophy.  It’s also the overall team performance, ranking and so on.

The Wolverines are 2-0 and currently ranked – but let’s not get too excited about Michigan yet.  Michigan was receiving similar acclaim last season with the early success by Tate Forcier.

Rich Rod is 10-16 as a head coach at Michigan, but that includes 3-13 in the Big Ten conference.  Do the math: That’s 7-3 against non-conference foes during the early part of the season.

While Robinson’s numbers are indeed impressive (885 yards of total offense over the first two games – including 383 against Connecticut and 502 against Notre Dame), take a look at Michigan’s opening two opponents.  Looks can be deceiving.

Neither the Huskies nor the Irish posted elite defensive statistics last season.  Each team was respectable in total defense (each ranked in the top 75 in 2009), but it’s also important to note some specific defensive performances against more elite talent.

UConn allowed 220+ rushing yards or more against Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Cincinnati – all teams that had respectable seasons in 2009.

Notre Dame over its final four games allowed 348 rushing yards to Navy, 193 to Pittsburgh, 231 to Connecticut and 280 to Stanford – all teams who either had an elite rushing player, or relied heavily on a ground attack.

Meanwhile, the critics marvel at Robinson’s early season accomplishments – all the while acting like this has never happened before.

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Does Rich Rodriguez finally have Michigan headed in the right direction?

After a few stale, crusty years at Michigan, is everyone so quickly to forget Rich Rod’s offensive system?

Rodriguez runs a no huddle spread offense that’s heavily run-oriented.  In order to maximize its effectiveness, it requires a dual-threat quarterback, specifically one that can run better than he can throw.

Considering that Denard Robinson completed only 45.2% of his passes last season, it’s safe to say that his lightning speed is his best asset.

Also, look at Rich Rod’s offense at West Virginia, which ran the ball 69% of the time (or more) from the years 2002-2007.

The most notable of players during Rodriguez’s tenure at West Virginia was dual-threat QB Pat White, who, like Denard Robinson, posted gaudy numbers in this system.

Pat White shattered numbers – and was a one-man show in Rich Rod’s system.  Just look at West Virginia’s career statistics and you’ll see White planted in 2nd place all-time in career passing, with 6,049 yards (Marc Bulger was first) and 2nd all-time in career rushing yards, with 4,480 (2nd only to Avon Cobourne).

How many Heisman trophies has Pat White won?

And even then, White had Steve Slaton to take a lot of the heat off of him.

On this year’s Michigan team – Robinson is the leading returning rusher, so that’s further proof that there isn’t much experience in the rushing attack, leaving Denard to take on a role of a one-man show at this point in the season.

What happens when the Wolverines have to face some of the better defenses on its schedule?  How about Iowa on October 16th  and  Penn State on October 30th?  What about games versus Wisconsin on November 20th and at Ohio State on November 27th?

Each and every one of these elite defenses will focus on limiting Robinson as much as they can.

Yes, Rich Rodriguez offenses – when they work – create flash and chatter.  But flash can also be something that looks like a Lamborghini on the outside, but also drives like a Kia on the inside.

Michigan’s play the last two seasons has proven that fact.

The college football nation declares that Michigan is back.  The pollsters are on the bandwagon and rank them after two weeks.  Check the schedule: Massachusetts, Bowling Green and Indiana on the Wolverines’ over the next three weeks.

As for Denard Robinson, there’s no doubt that the kid’s got talent – but not let’s not fall head over heels when we’ve only seen what cards he’s showing after two dates.

There’s no doubt that the Wolverines are getting better – but let’s take a wait-and-see approach.  Let’s see how Michigan handles the Big Ten schedule.

Until then, stop being a fool when it comes to the hype with Michigan.  Same goes for Denard Robinson and the Heisman trophy.

Quick, your shoelaces are untied… damn, you fell for that, too.

 

* Also posted to my Bleacher Report page (now in archives)

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