Northwestern’s dominant performance against Louisiana-Monroe brought with it flashes in the passing game, but the glitz and glamour shouldn’t overshadow the performance of its most productive unit this season: the offensive line.

Against the Warhawks, the Wildcats’ (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) mob of maulers set the tone with their best statistical performance to date. The NU line kept graduate student quarterback Preston Stone upright throughout the game, and the unit allowed just two tackles for loss, tied for the lowest mark during coach David Braun’s tenure.

With the front five firing on all cylinders, NU’s ground game thrived against ULM to the tune of nearly 250 yards on over six a carry, and with time to sit back in the pocket and break from it on his own terms, Stone delivered his best performance of the season as well. 

The ’Cats’ offense will need another strong performance from its line as a daunting matchup at Penn State (3-2, 0-2 Big Ten) awaits. Despite a surprising loss to UCLA last week, the Nittany Lions’ defense showed how pesky it can be, forcing nine tackles for loss and notching three sacks.

Against ULM, one second-quarter play showed how a strong performance in the trenches can turn potential into production for the ’Cats’ offense.

On 2nd-and-10 from its own 38-yard line, NU’s offense looked to rebound with a quick-hitting play after a long incompletion to junior wide receiver Griffin Wilde set it back behind the sticks.

The Warhawks sent five rushers at the snap, and another linebacker crashed down soon after to contain any potential run. With Stone’s read covered on the run-pass option, the veteran signal-caller decided to keep it himself as the line around him handled the blitz with ease.

Redshirt junior running back Joseph Himon II picked up the free rusher off the edge, and Stone made a run for it. With some help from graduate student center Jackson Carsello, he made it past the last defender standing in his way and broke free.

Thirty yards and a stiff-arm later, NU’s quarterback was chirping at a defender mid-play and showing off an intensity he wouldn’t relinquish until Braun opted to rest him in the fourth quarter, with the ’Cats already nursing a four-possession lead.

For Stone and the rest of NU’s rushing attack, that play shows up in the stat sheet. But the opportunity never arises without the players on the line excelling in their roles — especially the team’s star center.

Performances like last week’s from Stone and the emergence of redshirt sophomore running back Caleb Komolafe go hand-in-hand with Carsello’s own development this season. When one plays well, it makes it that much easier for the others to shine.

The homegrown talent from Northbrook has garnered some national recognition as of late, being named to PFF’s Big Ten Team of the Week after each of his past three games and receiving a season-best 80.6 run blocking grade for his performance against ULM.

His head coach only needed a single word to explain the progress Carsello has made during his time in Evanston: “tremendous.”

Carsello became a full-time starter midway through last season after three years of limited playtime, and the center has become the latest in a line of many great ’Cats to make the most of their opportunity when their number’s been called.

“The progression that we saw over the course of the season last year out of Jackson was really encouraging, but to see him take it up just a whole other level this season — the leadership element that he brings to that room, the consistency that he brings to that room — that’s a young man that should be really, really proud of himself,” Braun said in his weekly press conference on Monday.

Carsello and fellow graduate student lineman Caleb Tiernan joined the ’Cats offensive line room ahead of the 2021 season. Four years later, the two have emerged as its leaders and are headlining a group operating at its best.