He16man Showdown: Shoelace vs. Pryor - Week 5


Week 5 was a very nice step forward for Denard Robinson. Statistically, he's pulling away from Pryor in every rushing category. Pryor clearly throws the ball around more, thus his passing stats look slightly better. But, I will say passer ratings have always been close between these two players, with Denard having the edge every week.

Denard is the only player in FBS history to rush for over 200 yards and pass for over 200 yards twice in one season. Denard has not only done it twice, but he did it twice in 4 weeks, against decent defenses, on the road.

He was also named the Davey O'Brien QB of the week...again. [Via UM release]
Robinson Named Davey O’Brien Quarterback of the Week
FORT WORTH, Texas -- For the second time in five games this season, University of Michigan sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson (Deerfield Beach, Fla./Deerfield Beach) was named the Davey O'Brien Quarterback of the Week after leading the Wolverines to a 42-35 victory over Indiana last Saturday in the Big Ten Conference opener. He received the same honor after leading Michigan to a win over Notre Dame on Sept. 11.

Robinson accounted for 494 yards of total offense in the win against the Hoosiers and has four of the top 10 total offensive performances in Michigan history this season. He was 10-of-16 passing for 277 yards and three touchdowns (27.7 yards per completion), while also notching 19 rushes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. On the Wolverines' second offensive play, Robinson busted a 72-yard touchdown run and also scored the game-winner, diving into the end zone from four yards out with 17 seconds left in regulation.

He is the only player in college football history to run and pass for at least 200 yards each in the same game twice during the regular season. Through five games, Robinson has 1,913 yards of total offense (1,008 passing, 905 rushing) and has accounted for 15 touchdowns (eight rushing, seven passing).

Michigan welcomes in-state rival Michigan State to Michigan Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. The game will be shown to a nationally-televised audience on ESPN on ABC and begin at 3:30 p.m.
Pryor's road to Heisman glory hit a little speed bump last week when he went down with a "strained quad". The nature of an injury like this is it could clear up and be fine in one week, or it could fester and mushroom into a season-long injury that could seriously hinder any sort of running/planting/turning ability.

tOSU fans should be concerned, because after the play he was injured on, he spent some time on the sideline, and then came back into the game to hand the ball off 26 times, go 3 for 4 passing for 28 yards and a QB sneak for 2 yards.

Pryor's run for 66 yards against Illinois was his career long run. After about 50 yards, he completely ran out of gas and was easily caught from behind. On Denard's first carry against IU, he went 74 yards untouched and pulled away from the Hoosier DBs the whole way.

Just sayin'.

Week 5 stats:


Robinson
vs Indiana
Pryor
vs Illinois
Rush Attempts1911
Rushing Yards217104
Rushing TDs20
Pass Comp/Att10/169/16
Passing Yards27776
INTs01
Passing TDs32
Passer Rating269.81124.90
Total Plays3527
Total Yards494180
Points Scored120

Season stats through 10-2-10:


Denard
Robinson
Terrelle
Pryor
Rush Attempts9854
Rushing Yards905373
Rushing TDs83
Pass Comp/Att67/9680/123
Passing Yards10081015
INTs13
Passing TDs712
Passer Rating179.97161.67
Total Plays194177
Total Yards19131388
Points Scored4824

Denard Robinson photo credit: AP Photo/The Michigan Daily, Sam Wolson

4 comments

  1. Couple unbiased comments from a biased OSU fan:

    - I watched Pryor's long run several times, and at no point did I ever think he ran out of gas. There was an OSU blocker on an Illinois defender, and he slowed down to pick an angle, then he had to cut back. That's why he was caught.

    - Wins, not stats, will be the deciding factor if it happens to come down to these guys. Robinson will put up the more impressive stats b/c he's called on to do more for his team, ala Pat White. Pryor is not given the opportunity to pull it down and run as much as Robinson is. Much of that is Tressel being Tressel. I'm not saying I like it or agree with it. Bottom line: First team Big Ten QB might be based on stats, but the Heisman will not be, nor will anyone's perception of QB-ing success.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Couple of unbiased comments from a Michigan fan....

    For the first 5 weeks of the season Pryor has been a good QB; but Denard a great one. Anyone with eyes could see that. Unfortunately, we'll have to play more than 5 games before they hand the Heisman to Denard. But if if his stats keep up, whether or not Michigan wins every game, he will be the winner hands down. You're deluding yourself if you think otherwise.

    Whether or not Pryor was gassed or not, he was certainly looking for help on that play. Denard just leaves everyone in the dust. At this point, if you had to rate the two, Denard is the better athlete. We'll see if it holds up over the entire season.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I didn't realize I was wasting my time posting here. Is it always this dead? Already looking to basketball season? Oh wait, you suck there too.

    I was making some unbiased, objective comments, and I get that obnoxious response? Typical scUM.

    How are you feeling this morning? A little disappointed, I'm sure. Who saw that coming? Ha... Robinson was not a great QB even before the MSU game. He was a great runner. You can get away with that when you play NO ONE.

    How about a little reevaluation.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Greg, you leave a comment here like that and then have the audacity to call us scUM?

    Sure, Denard had a bad game. But Pryor has bad games all the time. Maybe we can learn from your vast experience about how to better deal with it.

    Please tOSU fan...teach us.

    ReplyDelete

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