Michigan Wolverines Football: Can Denard Robinson Handle 29 Carries Per Game?

After racking up a record of nearly 400 yards of total offense (383), Denard Robinson has been named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, Walter Camp National Guard Offensive Player of the Week, and the Rivals.com National Player of the Week en route to becoming only the second player in Big Ten history to rush and throw for 180 yards each and breaking the school record for QB rushing yards.

But can he continue the performance and keep up 29 carries a game?

Rich Rod and his teammates seem to think so.

"It really depends on how they play us," Rodriguez told the Free Press. "He [Denard Robinson] probably ran more than we'd like. I think that's a little bit much, but at the same time, he can handle it. He's bigger and stronger, but there were probably a few times that he ran when he could have given it up—and vice versa. I think he'll keep learning from that, but he can handle it."

A palpable terror spread throughout Michigan Stadium late in the third quarter when Robinson—while rushing the ball—had his hip crunched by a Connecticut defender, and lay on the field for a few moments.  He got back up, though, and left the field only for two plays on his own power.

“He’s such a resilient player,” sophomore linebacker Craig Roh told the Michigan Daily. “He’s always going to get back up.”

"If he can carry it 29 times for 200 yards, he'll carry it 29 times," Rodriguez told the Michigan Daily, not able to hold back his smile, "It is a long season and we play a lot of physical teams. But he's a very strong individual. He can handle it."

Of course, he can handle hits—most of the time he sprang right back up and walked coolly toward the huddle.  The offense is under his command, and he looks comfortable—but the take home message is as follows:

Robinson likely can't handle 29 carries a game, and this sentiment will materialize after he takes a few more jarring hits this September.  In fact, if Robinson continued at 29 carries a game, he would finish the year with 348 carries—a Michigan rushing record!  The current record belongs to Chris Perry (338 attempts) and to see the full seriousness of the situation, Mike Hart only carried 318 times in his most productive season (2006).

However, this is the risk one takes with a spread offense.  Teams running their QB like a RB are rare—but as the world witnessed this past Saturday, it can work. 

This is what Rich Rod's offense is supposed to look like. 

What's even more exciting is that the coaches kept the offense simple—likely resulting in the abnormally high rushing attempts that Robinson took—and the film that teams have on Michigan contain about 1 percent of the Wolverines' playbook.

There are a stable of young, but talented running backs behind Robinson.  As they emerge as viable options at the spot, they will take the pressure off of Denard.  Make no mistake, Robinson will be running, but don't expect Vincent Smith and Mike Shaw to combine for 29 carries a game—expect to see their role increase.  The running backs will have an increased part in the game and Robinson will shine as a true dual-threat QB, making plays not only with his legs, but his arm as well.

And I think the Huskies coach summed up everything pretty well, offering some insight for the 11 teams remaining on Michigan's schedule.

“Denard Robinson is going to make people look bad,” said Randy Edsall to the Detroit Free Press only minutes after the game.