Georgia O-Line Joe Moore

ATHENS — The Georgia offensive line works together better than last year’s, but not quite well enough to beat Michigan for the Joe Moore Award this season.

A Wolverines’ offensive line consisting of three Coaches’ first-team All-Big Ten picks edged out a UGA offensive line that featured only one Coaches’ first-team All-SEC pick by a scant five votes.

SEC Network analyst Cole Cubelic, the chairman for the Joe Moore Award voting committee — which is made up mostly of several former offensive linemen and offensive line coaches — said it was one of the closest votes ever for the award which annually recognizes the best offensive line in college football.

“As punishing and physically impressive as Georgia was,” Cubelic said in the Joe Moore release, “the collective voting body felt strongly that Michigan, above all others, was at their best when their best was needed, and that really seemed to be the differentiator.”

The Wolverines’ impressive performance against Ohio State, rushing for 252 yards and averaging 7.2 yards per carry in their first win in Columbus since 2000, may have put the unit over the top.

Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame Jimbo Covert, a Joe Moore voter and former teammate of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh with the Chicago Bears, said the performance impressed him.

“The reason I voted for (Michigan) is (they) dominated the line of scrimmage all year long, but what really impressed me was the Ohio State game,” Covert said in the Joe Moore release.

“Great offensive lines take control of the football game when they have to – their teammates depend on them to do it – and (Michigan) did it. (Michigan) ran the football down their throat and won the football game.”

Cubelic, who played offensive line at Auburn, was clearly also a fan of the work Stacy Searels has done with the Bulldogs’ offensive line.

“This group is different than last year, they work together better,” Cubelic told DawgNation.

“They have a better understanding at who is better at what, and the help in pass protection is cleaner.”

Georgia held an edge over Michigan in pass protection, allowing almost half as many sacks (7) as the Wolverines (13).

Part of that, however, had to do with Stetson Bennett having more mobility than Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy and a scheme that relied more heavily on quick perimeter passes.

Kirby Smart said UGA utilized and considered the quick throws more like runs, than passes, which is why the Bulldogs’ pass-run ratio increased.

Taking a deeper dive into the comparison of the Michigan and Georgia offensive line, there are interesting facets to note.

While the Bulldogs’ legendary defensive line dominated last year’s award-winning Joe Moore line at Michigan last year, some might speculate that with three first-rounders in addition to Jalen Carter, it would have had success against Georgia’s 2021 offensive line, too.

A look at the Big Ten Coaches’ vote and SEC Coaches’ Vote reveals the Wolverines received more credit from their peers than the Bulldogs:

Coaches’ All-Big Ten

First Team Michigan linemen

• Center Olu Oluwatimi

• Guard Trevor Keegan

• Guard Zak Zinter

Second team

• Tackle Ryan Hayes

Coaches All-SEC

First-Team Georgia linemen

• Tackle Warren McClendon

Second Team

• Center Sedrick Van Pran

Another metric to consider is the national statistics; Georgia played five Top 30 teams (Sagarin computer rankings) and Michigan played four Top 30 teams, while the Wolverines played two Top 10 teams and the Bulldogs’ just one.

Rushing offense

Michigan 243.0

Georgia 207.0

Rushing touchdowns

Michigan 38

Georgia 37

Yards per rush

Michigan 5.64

Georgia 5.53

Sacks allowed

Georgia 7-55

Michigan 13-107

The Joe Moore Award is based on this year’s unit, but it’s interesting to note that both Georgia and Michigan have turned out several NFL offensive linemen.

Here’s a look at the current former Bulldogs and Wolverines currently playing in the NFL, per SportTrac:

Georgia (8)

Ben Jones, Center, Tennessee

Andrew Thomas, Tackle, N.Y. Giants

David Andrews, Center, New England

Isaiah Wynn, Tackle, New England

Ben Cleveland, Guard, Baltimore

Jamaree Salyer, Tackle, San Diego

Trey Hill, Center, Cincinnati

Nick Moore, Long snapper, Baltimore

Michigan (11)

Taylor Lewan, Tackle, Tennessee

Graham Glasgow, Guard, Denver

Michael Schofield, Guard, Chicago

Cesar Ruiz, Center, New Orleans

Mason Cole, Center, Pittsburgh

Ben Bredeson, Guard N.Y. Giants

Jalen Mayfield, Tackle, Atlanta

Jon Runyan, Guard, Green Bay

Mike Onwenu, Guard, New England

Cameron Cheeseman, Long snapper, Washington

Andrew Stueber, Tackle, New England

Georgia does have two current offensive linemen projected to be selected in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.

Offensive tackle Broderick Jones is a projected first-round pick, per a recent USA Today mock draft, and center Sedrick Van Pran has been projected as a second-round pick.

The current Michigan offensive line does not have any players projected to be selected in the first two rounds at this time.