For anyone who went to Saturday's football game solely to see Michael Robinson pile up yards, the first half must have been a bore. But the second half was something to see.

Robinson was a non-existent part of Penn State's offense in the opening 24 minutes against Boston College.

By the time that Robinson was able to make an impact in the game, Boston College already led 27-7.

Only one week ago, Robinson played a key role in the Nittany Lions' offense. In the first half against Temple, he carried the ball four times for 16 yards, caught a pass for six yards and returned a punt.

Robinson also lined up behind center on two plays and was on the field but not involved in the play on a handful of others.

Nowhere on the first-half section of the Boston College stat sheet did Robinson's name appear. Robinson was a non-factor as he was only on the field for 10 plays in the half. On seven plays he lined up as a wide receiver and on the other three he was in the backfield.

He didn't touch the ball until after halftime, unless you count warm-up throws on the sideline.

Robinson also didn't return any punts, which he did against Temple. He said that the glare from a visor, which he wore for the first time against Boston College, made it too difficult to catch the punts.

Robinson said that being on the sideline for a majority of the time can be difficult.

"It gets frustrating sometimes," Robinson said. "But I'm only an injury away from leading this team. You just have to stay in there mentally and Joe does a good job of that, by tapping me, saying, 'Stay in the game, you never know what will happen.' That's what I did."

Eventually, Robinson was called on. He replaced Mills as the quarterback late in the third quarter. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said that he made the switch to utilize Robinson's speed in an attempt to nullify the fierce Boston College pass rush.

Robinson was unaware that he was entering the game until the last moment.

"I was sitting on the side thinking, 'Man, what is going on?' " Robinson said. "[The coaches] came over and said, 'Mike, you're in.' I thought at another position, but I saw Zack with his helmet off. I'm just happy that [Paterno] trusted me to go in and lead the team."

On his second snap as quarterback, Robinson showed that he could run the option. As he got to the corner, Robinson pitched the ball to Austin Scott, who turned it up field and gained 17 yards.

Robinson and Scott worked well together on another option play only three plays later. This time the play went for 24 yards.

The sophomore also led the Lions down the field for its second and final score of the day. On that drive, Robinson accounted for 46 of the 54 yards and he capped the drive off with a two-yard touchdown run.

With the struggles of the offensive line, Robinson becomes a more viable option than Mills, as he has the agility to avoid some of the rushers. He said that him being in the game takes some pressure off the linemen.

"The offensive line doesn't worry as much," Robinson said. "They know that I can make some people miss. But it doesn't give them the luxury to let everyone through."

Facing a bigger and faster defensive front in Nebraska this weekend, Robinson might be called on more often.

But then again, he might remain on the sideline blending into the crowd.