UConn unable to stop Michigan quarterback

Ann Arbor, Mich. - It's hard to fathom that Michigan had any quarterback controversy at all, especially after watching Denard Robinson shred UConn's defense on Saturday.

Robinson, who wasn't named the Wolverines' starting QB until Saturday morning, put on a performance for the ages - not bad considering Michigan's college football pedigree.

The sophomore accounted for 383 of Michigan's 473 total yards, including one rushing and one passing touchdown, as the Wolverines built an early 21-point lead, survived a modest UConn comeback, and defeated the Huskies, 30-10, before 113,090 fans at the "Big House" - the largest crowd to ever witness a college football game.

"Denard Robinson is going to make people look bad," UConn coach Randy Edsall said. "That guy is an extra running back out there. Give him credit. He's an outstanding athlete and an outstanding player."

Robinson rushed for 197 yards - a school record by a quarterback - and completed 19 of 22 passes for 186 yards. More important, his ability to escape trouble on third down really came back to haunt the Huskies, who allowed Michigan to convert an amazing 14 of 19 third-down plays.

"Third down … man, it's gonna be a long ride home watching those third-down plays because we could have been off the field defensively a couple of times," Edsall said. "We had opportunities on third down. (It was) déjà vu all over again with West Virginia and Pat White, and third down and 15 and they run the quarterback draw … and here we go again."

White was Rich Rodriguez's QB during his days as West Virginia's head coach, and Robinson plays with the same attributes as the former two-time Big East Offensive Player of the Year.

Seven times, Robinson converted third downs of 6 yards or more, including the final TD that made it 30-10 when he caught the Huskies in a blitz and found Vincent Smith in the left flat for an 11-yard score with 13 minutes, 7 seconds left.

Despite the early deficit and lopsided final, UConn was very much in this game.

The Huskies scored the last 10 points of the first half on Dave Teggart's 32-yard field goal with 4:21 left in the half and Jordan Todman's 2-yard fourth-down run with 17 seconds to go in the half.

Then after falling behind 24-10 when Michigan's Brendan Gibbons kicked a 24-yard field goal on the Wolverines' opening drove of the second half, UConn marched right down the field and put itself in great position to get within seven.

But on fourth-and-inches from the Michigan 7, reserve tailback D.J. Shoemate - the Southern Cal transfer - fumbled after picking up the first down inside the 5 with 2:29 left in the third quarter and the Wolverines converted the game's only turnover into a six points (Gibbons missed the extra point).

"You don't want to say it did, but I'm sure (the fumble) took a little steam out of us," Edsall said. "You had a chance, but they're human. That was big in the ballgame, no question about that."

"We were still in the game," added wide receiver Mike Smith. "We drive it down and unfortunately D.J. fumbles. and that's a 14-point swing from 24-17 to 30-10. That's a totally different ballgame."

Dropped passes also hurt the Huskies, including one by Smith near the goal line early in the game. But Smith, who had the wind knocked out of him during a pregame collision with teammate Jerome Junior, did have the game's most acrobatic play that led to UConn's lone TD, juggling a Zach Frazer pass four times before pulling the ball into his chest and completing a 47-yard catch.

He finished with three receptions for 87 yards. Frazer completed 18 of 37 passes for 205 yards while Todman had 105 yards on 20 carries. Considering all the squandered chances, the UConn offense still had 343 total yards.

"We'll be fine," Smith said. "This game was not a 20-point blowout. If you watched the game you understand that we missed opportunities and we really beat ourselves."