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6 Big Ten teams land on Joe Moore Award Midseason Honor Roll
By Mark Kern
Published:
The Big Ten is known as a physical, pound-the-rock style of conference. In order to run the ball, the offensive line play has to be very good, and no conference is better on the offensive line.
The Joe Moore Award recognizes the best offensive line in college football, and 6 teams from the B1G were named to the Midseason Honor Roll. The Midseason Honor Roll includes 22 total offensive line units. The voting committee will release semifinalists for the real award on Nov. 12, and name finalists on Dec. 3.
Iowa is the first offensive line from the B1G on the list, and the Hawkeyes have 1 of the most experienced offensive lines with 151 career starts. The Hawkeyes have rushed for at least 200 yards in 4 of their 5 games this year while running back Kaleb Johnson is 2nd in the country with 771 rushing yards.
No team counts on the ground game more than the Michigan Wolverines, as they have rushed for at least 230 yards and 9 touchdowns in their last 4 games. The Wolverines are 1 of only 2 B1G teams with 2 players who have rushed for at least 350 yards.
Ohio State’s offense gets a lot of talk about how talented the skill position players are, but the Buckeyes’ offensive line plays a huge role in the team’s success. The Buckeyes have only been tackled behind the line of scrimmage 13 times, which is the third fewest in the country. The ground game with Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson is one of the best in college football, as the Buckeyes average 222.2 yards per game.
Oregon’s offense really struggled in the first 2 games of the season, and the Ducks didn’t look like the team everyone thought they would be. However, the group has responded well the last 3 games, not giving up a sack during that stretch. When the Ducks are in 3rd-and-short, they convert at an 88.9% clip.
Penn State’s offense is much better this year, and the offensive line has played a big role in that. This unit has given up only 34 pressures, which is tied for the 7th fewest in college football. The Nittany Lions have rushed for at least 220 yards in 4 of their last 5 games.
The final B1G offensive line group on this list is Rutgers, who is 4-1 on the season. The Scarlet Knights average 41.4 rushes per game, which is the most in the conference. Running back Kyle Monangai is currently 5th in the country with 667 rushing yards.