Karan Higdon: RB · Michigan · #22.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Karan Higdon
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. Fourth year in the same backfield at Michigan. Named All-Big Ten two seasons running, most recently in 2018. A game that shows it: 156 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against Western Michigan — Week 2, 2018.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
Not actually a closer
42.9% of carries overall (224/522) → 25.2% of Q4-with-lead carries (29/115) — 96.6% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
15 of 23 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (65.2%). 15 of the team's 30 inside-the-5 carries (50.0%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2018 season · 12 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 17-24@ No. 12 Notre Dame | 21 | 72 | 3.4 | 1 | 10 | |
| Wk 2 | W 49-3vs Western Michigan | 13 | 156 | 12.0 | 1 | 67 | Season-high 156 yds |
| Wk 4 | W 56-10vs Nebraska | 12 | 136 | 11.3 | 1 | 46 | |
| Wk 5 | W 20-17@ Northwestern | 30 | 115 | 3.8 | 2 | 30 | |
| Wk 6 | W 42-21vs Maryland | 25 | 103 | 4.1 | 0 | 18 | |
| Wk 7 | W 38-13vs No. 15 Wisconsin | 19 | 105 | 5.5 | 1 | 25 | |
| Wk 8 | W 21-7@ No. 24 Michigan State | 33 | 144 | 4.4 | 0 | 38 | |
| Wk 10 | W 42-7vs No. 14 Penn State | 20 | 132 | 6.6 | 1 | 50 | |
| Wk 11 | W 42-7@ Rutgers | 15 | 42 | 2.8 | 2 | 9 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-20vs Indiana | 21 | 101 | 4.8 | 1 | 14 | |
| Wk 13 | L 39-62@ No. 10 Ohio State | 15 | 72 | 4.8 | 0 | 24 | |
 Bowl | L 15-41vs No. 10 Florida | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Total | 225 | 1180 | 5.2 | 10 | 67 |
Week 10 · 2018
W 42-7
vs Penn State
132 rush yds (20 car) · 1 TD
Dominant 35-point win at home against Penn State.
With W. Hart — 43.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20 · S. Patterson — 144 yds · 2 TD · 0 INT · 42 rush yds (11 car) · 1 TD
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
45%224 carriesFumble rate
0.4%1 of 225 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.2 yds/carry on 225 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
4 seasons under Jim Harbaugh — 38-14 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2018 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 122 | 7.4 | 0.8 |
| Road5g | 89.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 98.4 | 6.0 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 98.2 | 4.7 | 0.8 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Pass share
38.6%
340 pass / 540 run
Plays / game
67.7
13 games
Team sack rate
5.9%
370 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-heavy.
Player standing · 2018
First team in his league at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons at Michigan, 2,618 rushing yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2018) — the college career is complete.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-BIG TEN · 1ST TEAM
All-Big Ten 1st team (2018)
Coaching lineage · 2015–2018
1 coachPlayed every college season under Jim Harbaugh.
