Dan Lanning spotlights challenge of facing Michigan’s defensive front

Dan Lanning’s offensive line has greatly improved since a rough start to the 2024 season. Now, Oregon’s front line will face arguably the best defensive group up front they will see all season long.

That would be Michigan where the Wolverines boast star playmakers along the defensive front. It all begins with a pair of massive players on the inside from Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant.

Graham, a surprisingly athletic game-wrecker over 300 pounds, can blow things up in a heartbeat. Combined with Grant, another behemoth who checks in over 300 pounds, and the interior of the Wolverines is not for the weak-willed.

Together, that duo has combined for 10.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks in 8 games, but their impact goes beyond the raw numbers alone. With both players occupying the middle up front, opposing teams are largely incapable of deploying a double team to neutralize the Wolverines.

At his weekly press conference, Lanning admitted those two stalwarts are “game wreckers” that the Ducks are preparing to handle up front:

“They’re guys that you have to have a game plan for. But 78, 55 both, they make an impact,” praised Lanning. “You know, consistent in the game. They beat, you know, single blocks. They’re certainly good against double teams, they’re good against the run and the pass. So they’re guys that you have to spend time and effort for. And you know, anytime you have guys like that up front, it makes it easier to cover in the back end.”

While those two players are the interior stars for Michigan, Josaiah Stewart has been changing games coming off the edge for the Wolverines. The star edge rusher currently leads the B1G in TFLs (11) and is tied for 2nd in the conference with 6.5 sacks.

As for Stewart, Lanning sees a player who is not just one-dimensional as a speed rusher but a guy who also has power to his game:

“Power and twitch,” Lanning said about the pass rusher. “Again, plays with power, but also has speed and twitch and ability. So it’s not just; certainly not a finesse rusher. You know, he plays it a certain way, but he’s a talented guy.”

While it’s a true test for Oregon’s offensive line, the unit has been playing much better since a shaky start to the campaign. In the major showdown vs. Ohio State, the Ducks did not allow a single sack and had just 2 TFLs.

Since the win over the Buckeyes, Oregon has given up a total of 3 sacks across wins over Purdue and Illinois, but the offense was overall effective in both games. We’ll see if they can keep that going in Ann Arbor.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.