Karan Higdon says Michigan has the best offensive line in the country
And he may not be wrong. We just faced off against mighty Wiscansin, arguably the best line in the country, full of NFL 1st and 2nd round talent, and completely dominated them. The best O Line won the game and it wasn't theirs. Michigan ran for over 300 yards, Patterson stayed well protected all night, and for the 5th game in a row a lineman will grade in the top PFF performers of the game.
I knew our line would improve under Warriner, but I'm pretty well shocked at the strides they've taken from game to game. After ND freshmen replacing starters was discussed, and possibly even hoped for, that discussion seems to have been long forgotten now.
Throw your fancystats at me. Lend me your hot takes. Tell me how they pass the ol' eye-test. Is Higdon right, or maybe just boasting after possibly the biggest win of the Harbaugh era?
Discuss
October 14th, 2018 at 10:11 AM ^
Note: I see auto-correct changed Warinner to Warriner, my bad, Ed. Where is the edit button for these things, or is that feature pending?
October 14th, 2018 at 10:55 AM ^
Both wrong. It's Warrrrrrrrinnnner.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:14 AM ^
The extra "r"s are for "road-graders!!!!!", amirite!?!?
October 14th, 2018 at 11:16 AM ^
Why didn't it change Wiscansin?
October 14th, 2018 at 12:32 PM ^
Turtleboy is T-Pain?
October 14th, 2018 at 12:51 PM ^
That was deliberate. It's phonetic.
October 14th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
You have to buy the pro version to get that feature.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
They are good, possibly even dependable, but they are not the best in the country and it is not a deep unit.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
And there's absolutely nothing wrong with Higdon saying they're the best.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:00 AM ^
They are good, possibly even dependable, but they are not the best in the country and it is not a deep unit.
Somehow I'd feel worse if Higdon had chosen to use those words to describe them.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
Proof is in the W column. If we truly have the best OL and DL then we should have no trouble winning out and going into the playoff. Time will tell.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
Probably not but it's encouraging that our RB feels that way
October 14th, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
At the end of the day, trust and faith is all we need to give ourselves a fighting chance. Playing with confidence and not timidity is progress.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:14 AM ^
No. Not the best.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
So according to Karan it's finally time for everyone to start sucking each others dicks.
I'm ready.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:40 AM ^
Hey the Oline is at least top50, right?
Good enough for me.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Yikes, Hatter. You hitting it early this morning or is this just 18 hours straight drinking? Either way, I tip my cap, sir.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
Hatter only does drugs on gamedays he’s said in the past . Doesn’t have to get up out of his seat to pee as much
October 14th, 2018 at 10:15 AM ^
They might be top 25, but nowhere near the best. What Wisconsin's o line faced last night wasn't comparable to what Michigan's o line faced.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
I'm glad he feels that way, and I definitely hope he's right. However, I fear this is just a natural reaction to his finally running behind a competent line.
I'm sure this Warinner OL does seem amazing compared to last year's line. Is it amazing compared to Alabama or Clemson? That's a tough ask.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:16 AM ^
Higdon is definitely not right here, but I don’t fault him or love him any less for that. I like him building up his teammates. This offensive line has clearly turned a corner. They are playing as one of the better lines in the B1G. Last night was just the latest in a impressive stretch. PFF had our pass pro at #28 before this game, and I don’t think it will go down after last night. The run blacking was actually subpar in the first half, but they got much better as the game went on. That is a new development, and a sign of a stronger team with better conditioning!
I love Higdon’s comments, I just think there is obvious (yet appropriate in context) hyperbole.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:19 AM ^
Who cares. What does the 247 composite say? That’s who is the best.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:22 AM ^
Well, if Higdon says so...who am I to doubt it?
October 14th, 2018 at 10:29 AM ^
Yeah I get Higdon is gonna say this after a game like yesterday's, but let's cool it a little.
Yes Wisconsin's OLine is best of the Nation, but as clearly documented in the preview their DLine is far from it. They're middling at best after 2 injuries and needing to start a redshirt, walk-on frosh.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Best OL coach in country baby.
Best part is, 4 starters return next year, and I bet you Hudson will look just fine replacing JBB. Onwards!
October 14th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^
Ours is good and getting better, in my estimation, but I don't know if I am ready to throw the word "best" out there just yet. I love his confidence though, and I will say, last night was the first time in a long time I found myself saying "I really like what this line is able to do" throughout the entire game.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:33 AM ^
Whether or not they are the best really doesn't matter. This line has shown improvement every single week. They can hold their own against solid opponents. For the first time in years last night, we saw them able to keep getting first downs. This game was decided by mid third quarter, and Harbaugh did what he always does, grind out the rest of the game. Last night was probably the first time since he's been here that there was no doubt they were going to get first downs at will.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:36 AM ^
I see what Karan did there. Positive reinforcement to make them work harder and live up to those expectations.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:45 AM ^
I once threw for 6 touchdowns in an intramural football game. That day I thought I was the best QB in the country. Maybe still do.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
Lol +1 sir
October 14th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
Brian Lewerke would trade his o line for Michigan’s all day. ?
October 14th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
Per MGoBlog protocol, Karan is correct. That is until our next 3 & out, when they will suck.
October 14th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Pretty much. Our fanbase is bipolar.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
I am happy for these kids to experience success, I know they have worked really hard and taken a lot of shit in the past. I just think they are talking a bit too much right now. I feel like all the talking is a bad omen. Also, Our Oline is nowhere near the best in the country, they didn't play against their great Oline they played against their shit Dline.
October 14th, 2018 at 10:48 AM ^
The caveat from last night is our front 4 >> Wisconsins front 4. Their O line had a much tougher match up
October 14th, 2018 at 10:58 AM ^
Wisconsin dl is not that great. We also gave up 3 sacks. It was a pretty good day on the ground though.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:21 AM ^
One of those was 100% on the QB. It's not the OL's fault when he escapes the pocket and then hesitates while an LB disengages and runs 10 yards right at him for the sack. He could have run OR thrown it away.
October 14th, 2018 at 12:08 PM ^
Next week, the Wolverines face the number one rush defense. Effective Wolverine passing will be needed to set up running plays.
Althought PSU did put 205 rushing yards on MSU so we will see.
October 14th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
Only one of those was actually attributable to the Oline. 320 yards rushing, pretty good. Yeah.
What the hell do you people want to see?
October 14th, 2018 at 11:03 AM ^
Most improved for sure.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:19 AM ^
I mean probably not, but who’s going to really blame Higdon for saying so? Nothing wrong with complimenting your teammates and giving them their due credit. But they’ve got bigger tests next week, and against OSU in November.
I’m just happy to see week to week improvement. You can tell Warriner’s presence is having a huge impact.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
We need to lock Warriner in pay him whatever it takes. We already have 100 assistants making 1m per season, Warriner deserves to be paid.
October 14th, 2018 at 12:09 PM ^
Why are all your comments now bold?
October 14th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
Our O-line did not play against Wisconsin's O-line.
As documented extensively by Seth in FFFF, Wisconsin's front 4 on defense is absolutely decimated. That probably had as much to do with the dominance of our running game than anything else.
MSU has the best run D in the country. If we put up a good game on the ground next week, I'll be a believer
October 14th, 2018 at 2:21 PM ^
Remember when Michigan’s OL made shitty teams like Cincinnati look like Clemson? Our OL passes the eye test now.
Even upper echelon OL get pushed around on occasion. It’s silly to demand perfection.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:25 AM ^
That's a nice thing to say about your teammates
October 14th, 2018 at 11:40 AM ^
Yeah, no. Not the best in the country. But vastly improving week to week. We all said all we need is a functioning line to be a great offense. The line has passed the "functioning" grade and look what they did. So, not the best, but more than good enough for the time being. Get better each week and they very well may be good enough to take down OSU and do damage in a playoff if they get there
October 14th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Meyer did walk into a good thing, but he's also a good coach and a top-shelf recruiter. He's simply a toxic piece of shit that seems to eventually poison every program that has him for a while.
You're right though. Harbaugh is a good coach too, and he's in the middle of building something lasting. I can't think of a single game in RR or Hoke's tenure where they gutted out a win against a quality team. Harbaugh's teams can do that. Now it's time to get to the next level.
The fourth quarter collapses seem much less likely. The QB situation is good. The OL is improving. Michigan is good this year and there's no reason to think we won't be as good next year and the year after.
October 14th, 2018 at 11:52 AM ^
Last night our OL looked better than Wisconsin's elite unit. Coach Ed is a f-ing miracle worker. To war we go ... can't wait for them to take that short bus ride to East Lansing so we all can drink Sparty tears. Go Blue !!!