Minnesota at Michigan: Blowout Win Hurts Denard Robinson's Heisman Trophy Hopes

Michigan blows out Minnesota 58-0 and Denard Robinson accounts for three total touchdowns. How exactly could this performance hurt his Heisman hopes?

It's not that often that you'll see a quarterback throw two touchdown passes, then turn around and run for an 8.5 yard-per-carry average, and still say it wasn't a great Heisman day. Yet, that might just be the case for Denard Robsinson.

The problem is multi-fold for Robsinson.

First, he threw for just 169 yards, which won't help elevate him above the likes of Andrew Luck or Kellen Moore, who are averaging 262 and 331 yards per game respectively. Add to that the fact that Robert Griffin III (Baylor) is averaging over 320 yards per game and it puts Robinson well behind the curve for yards tossed.

Luck had thrown for 8 touchdowns coming into the week, Moore had accounted for 12 and Griffin put up 13. The two Robinson threw today only brought him to eight also, which only equals Luck's number, while keeping him well behind the average of the others.

Of course, Shoelace is a dual-threat quarterback though, which Luck and Moore really aren't. He often pulls the ball down and does more with his legs than he does with his arm.

Today, Robinson accounted for 51 yards on the ground (in just six carries) and scored one touchdown. While that's impressive, it's not completely jaw-dropping, regardless of how impressive those runs may have looked to the viewer.

All of this brings us to the real reason today did Robinson no favors on the Heisman front: he didn't get to play a full game.

Minnesota didn't provide any challenge at all for the Wolverines and, as time wore on, Brady Hoke wisely pulled his stars and gave his second-team personnel valuable playing experience.

After Robinson left the game, Devin Gardner tossed five pass attempts and Vincent Smith threw another (resulting in a touchdown, no less).

Fitsgerald Toussaint picked up 108 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries and Thomas Rawls gathered another 73 yards on 10 carries. There was very little need and not much time for Robinson to take to the ground and put up staggering numbers of his own.

Meanwhile, Robert Griffin III and his Baylor teammates will be at Kansas State, taking on the team that knocked off Miami (FL) just last week. He'll likely get a full four quarters to showcase his talents and attempt to put up big stats.

Kellen Moore and Andrew Luck might not fare a lot better as Boise State takes on Nevada and Stanford takes on UCLA.

However, what about Marcus Lattimore, facing Auburn with his South Carolina teammates? What about Trent Richardson with Alabama traveling into the swamp of Florida to take on the Gators?

Those are more marquee match-ups that will draw more attention and steal away Heisman eyes.

It's one thing when a team like Michigan takes on Central Michigan in the first few weeks of play. Everyone else around the country is facing lesser competition as well. Nothing much is expected.

However, when you get five weeks into the year, everyone is into conference play and the expectations become greater. Minnesota did Robinson no favors by rolling over. They only served to help him get to the bench faster and steal away potential stats.

Heisman contenders have to look good against good competition. The more Minnesota's Michigan plays throughout the year, the less impressive Robinson's stats will be and the fewer of them he can amass.

It was a great blowout win for Michigan, but it may have done more damage than good to Robinson's Heisman hopes.