NCAA Football Betting: Is Denard Robinson the Next Terrelle Pryor...or Better?

NCAA football betting players have been treated to an enthralling start to the season, and there has been no player more exciting than Michigan sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson, who has the Wolverines thinking about a bowl (and maybe more) after two straight years of missing the postseason.

The automatic comparison to make to Robinson also hails from the Big Ten, and wouldn’t you know, it just happens to be the quarterback of Michigan’s biggest rival, Ohio State’s Terrelle Pryor, who was a Heisman candidate heading into this season.

So, how does Robinson stack up?

Robinson didn’t play much as a freshman last year, although Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez is probably second-guessing his decision to ride with Tate Forcier all season in 2009. Pryor was named the starter in his fourth game of his freshman year after his Buckeyes were slaughtered 35-3 at USC, so he’s a bit ahead of the learning curve.

The most obvious comparison for football betting players is that they’re both extremely mobile and can make something out of nothing. Pryor is a bit more of a pocket passer now, but he can still make plays with his feet, as you saw when the Buckeyes beat Miami 36-24 a couple of weeks ago.

Robinson is still apt to take off and go at the drop of a hat, but the thing is, he may already be a better passer than Pryor is. Robinson has completed 69.7 percent of his passes so far this year, and even though he hasn’t played a really good defense yet, he’s shown great touch on his passes, much better than Pryor showed at that point in his career.

We’re really not going to see what Robinson is truly made of until October 9, when the Wolverines start a three-game stretch with home games against Michigan State and Iowa, followed by a tough trip to Happy Valley to play Penn State (all three of these teams are currently ranked).

But how much would you pay per head to go to this year’s Michigan-Ohio State game at “The Horseshoe” in Columbus? That will probably be the toughest defense that Robinson will face all season, and that it is on the road is a much tougher prospect.

The head-to-head matchup between Robinson and Pryor will be a big measuring stick not only for Robinson, but for the Wolverines as a whole, as they’ve been thoroughly dominated by the Buckeyes in this legendary rivalry as of late.

Right now, you’d probably have to take Pryor due to experience, but it wouldn’t surprise us at all if Robinson emerged as a late betting candidate for the Heisman, and he’ll end up being better than his Ohio State counterpart when it’s all said and done.