As the second half of the season commences the Daily football beat steps back and takes a look at the Wolverines' performance in the first six games of the 2010 season. And with a 5-1 record, there sure are a lot of things to be proud of. But at the same time, in Michigan's loss to the Spartans last week, some of glaring issues became painfully clear.

With Iowa on the docket, this week could either send Michigan back down last season's path of despair into Big Ten title contention. Here's the Daily's take on how each position group has done through six games so far.

Quarterbacks

Many questions surrounded the quarterback position in the offseason, as Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez maintained that it was a three-player race. In reality, sophomore Denard Robinson stole the starting job likely as soon as he threw his first complete pass this spring.

In his first six career starts, Robinson has had three top-10 all-time Michigan performances for total offense – against Connecticut (383 total yards), against Notre Dame (502) and against Indiana (494). Robinson also leads the nation in rushing, with 991 yards so far. Oregon’s LaMichael James sits in second place with 848, and of course, he’s a running back. Not surprisingly after putting up these kinds of numbers, Robinson entered the Heisman Trophy discussion. Since his 502 yards and final-minute scoring drive at Notre Dame, Robinson has been the early-season favorite. But his stock dropped a bit after throwing three interceptions against Michigan State in Michigan’s first loss of the year.

Still, this offense goes as Robinson goes, and he’s a very dangerous dual-threat quarterback. Even if Big Ten defenses figure out ways to contain the 6-foot, 193-pound speedster, Robinson is sure to break plenty of NCAA quarterback records this season.

Grade: A

Running backs

Hello? Running backs, where have you been? Through the season’s first two games, the tailbackshardly showed up on the stat sheet — at least compared to Robinson. He rushed for 206 yards in the season opener, and two running backs combined for 110 yards.

Then, he went for 258 on the ground against Notre Dame, while two running backs totaled just 30 yards. Thirty? In a 28-24 game? Questions arose after that game about how many carries Robinson could handle before it took a physical toll on his body.

Those questions have quieted a bit in recent weeks as the running backs have started to pile up more yardage, but offensive explosions against teams like Massachusetts and Bowling Green didn’t win over any doubters. Junior Michael Shaw has emerged as Michigan’s go-to back, but he’s been dealing with a knee injury and didn’t seem to be 100 percent against the Spartans last week. He’s averaging 5.7 yards per carry, which is an upgrade over sophomore Vincent Smith’s 4.8. Of all the offensive position groups, running back is certainly the most disappointing. They’re lucky to get above average grades here — what they’ve done on the field screams average.

Grade: C+

Wide receivers/Tight ends

The wide receiving corps was well on its way to a solid A here until last week against Michigan State — all those unexplained drops! But let’s talk positives. It’s clear Robinson developed chemistry with all of his slot and wide receivers in the offseason.

Each week, it’s a different receiver putting up 100+ yards and making big catches. Just when you think junior Roy Roundtree is Robinson’s go-to guy, Martavious Odoms has a breakout game. And on and on. Junior Darryl Stonum said it best: “You never know who’s going to be the one having a big game.” It’s almost a competition among the receivers, and that’s the way Robinson likes it. Five receivers who have caught at least eight passes average more than 10 yards per catch.

Eight different receivers/tight ends have caught at least one touchdown pass. Two receivers — Stonum and redshirt junior Junior Hemingway — have touchdowns of 70+ yards. Robinson’s passing was his biggest question mark heading into this season (after only completing 14 passes all of last season), and he’s impressed critics with a 67.2 completion percentage through the first six games.