The Michigan Wolverines are heading to the Big Ten Championship Game after beating Ohio State in their annual rivalry game. No Jim Harbaugh, no problem.
Interim head coach Sherrone Moore added a fourth victory to his résumé with a 30-24 victory over the Buckeyes.
After the game, he could not speak more highly of the Wolverines' preparation and focus ahead of the biggest matchup of the season.
"Could not be more proud of this team and more proud to be apart of this Team and great university! Love this Team with all my heart!! The thing is we have unfinished business!" the interim head coach tweeted.
He expanded on that sentiment in his postgame press conference.
Sherrone Moore postgame press conference: Everything Michigan interim head coach said after beating Ohio State
"We always talk about never flinching. Our guys don't flinch regardless of the situation," Moore said. "This is such a great response by our guys and what you'd expect from a trained group like ours."
The Wolverines had to deal with a hurricane of outside distractions with their head coach suspended from coaching on Saturdays because of an alleged sign-stealing scandal.
Moore credited the team for how they handled the moment.
"The biggest thing is we just try to focus on what we're working on, keeping the main thing the main thing. Not looking too far into the future, not looking at the past. Doing what we can every single day to get better and attack that moment. Not trying to look at the outside world at what people are saying," Moore said. "We know what we have in that building and staying together as a group is the most important thing for us."
With Harbaugh away from the stadium on game day, Moore revealed what he and the coach told each other before the game.
"A big thing he said to me was he loved me and 'Be me.' I told him the same thing, I love him and we got his back," Moore said. "Players would run through a wall for him, so would the coaches, so we were prepared to go win this game for him."
Part of winning the game was being bold.
"I told them we were going to be aggressive. We wanted to be aggressive. Wanted to attack it and those guys went out there and played their tails off," Moore said.
The aggressive playcalling and trick players were all part of a plan that Michigan has been brewing up all year.
"This game is something we prepare for 365. It's not a one-week affair. It's not something we draw up that week. It's something that's planned out very strategically," Moore said.
That plan clearly worked. And now it's on to the Big Ten title game with Moore handing the reigns back to Harbaugh with the conference crown on the line.
