WEST LAFAYETTE — With about nine minutes left in the third quarter of the Wolverines' matchup with Purdue on Saturday, Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez decided it was time to make a change.

His starting quarterback, sophomore Denard Robinson, hadn’t played particularly well since the first quarter when Robinson found junior wideout Roy Roundtree in the endzone to put Michigan up 14-0. Since then, while the Wolverines scored with an extremely short field after a fumble recovery by the defense, Robinson had thrown two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. All of that, and Purdue had climbed back to within four points.

Rodriguez decided that Robinson needed to leave the game in favor of backup sophomore quarterback Tate Forcier.

“Trying to get a spark, obviously Denard didn’t have his best game of the year,” quarterbacks coach Rod Smith said after the game. “He struggled at times and he was trying to get a spark with Tate. He was trying to get an offensive spark, get something going."

Rodriguez said after the game, however, there was no reason to read into the move. The offense simply needed a change of pace.

“Denard is the starter,” Rodriguez said. “He’ll be starting next game.”

While Robinson will remain the starter, it’s reasonable to assume Michigan fans might see similar moves for the remainder of the season if the offense stalls like it did in West Lafayette.

Rodriguez offered a different view of “benching” a quarterback — he'd prefer to look at it more like rotating in a new running back or a new offensive lineman.

“If you run a running back in or out or a wide receiver in or out or a lineman or a linebacker, you just say, ‘Oh you’re giving him a break,' " Rodriguez said. “If you take a quarterback out, you say you’re benching him. We’re just giving him a break and let him see what’s going on out there.”

Robinson and Forcier rotated drives from the point Robinson was taken out until the end of the game. Robinson ended up in the game on the Wolverines’ final possession, during which he made two clutch plays to keep the drive alive and the clock ticking: an 11-yard scamper on a third-and-nine and a 25-yard pass to junior tight end Kevin Koger on another third down.

The drive ended with a touchdown run by freshman running back Stephen Hopkins which effectively sealed the game.

Nearing the end of a sensational first season as a starter, Robinson had one of the worst games of his young career. The sophomore completed 13-of-21 passes through the air with one passing touchdown and two interceptions. Saturday was the first time Robinson was pulled because of performance, or lack thereof, as opposed to injury.

For his part, Forcier didn’t mind being rotated in and out of the game.

“I'm just happy to get out there and play,” Forcier said. “It's cool that he's rotating guys out, I didn't mind that at all. … The coaches are putting in who they have to put in to win the game and we won the game.”

Forcier didn't get much going on his drives. The sophomore went 1-for-4 passing for 17 yards as well as three yards rushing. He was also sacked once.

Robinson, as usual, was less talkative but said the same thing when asked if it was a problem for him going in every other drive.

“No, it wasn’t,” Robinson said. “You got to be ready at all times.”