It has been nearly two months since Michigan’s football team went into Columbus and stunned No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 in a monumental upset.
For first-year head coach Sherrone Moore and his Wolverines, it was a signature victory and a momentum-builder heading into the bowl game and offseason. For the Buckeyes, it was a “truth-telling” loss to their rival – their fourth straight in the series that riled up a fan base that had become increasingly dismayed with head coach Ryan Day.
But that loss also has served as a turning point on OSU’s season, with players using it as fuel during their College Football Playoff run. The eighth-seeded Buckeyes have won three straight to reach the national championship and have chance to win their first since 2014 Monday night against Notre Dame.
Moore and his players celebrated on the field at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 30, which included planting a flag at midfield, sparking a mass scrum and leading to police using pepper spray to try and break up the melee.
With a win over the seventh-seeded Irish, the Buckeyes will get a chance to celebrate a national title at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Either way, one of Michigan’s rivals will be a national champion.
Moore, speaking to two reporters after giving a speech at the annual Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Convention Friday in Lansing, joked that he would not comment on his rooting interests in the game and said he had not yet decided if he will watch.
“I haven’t made that decision yet,” Moore said. “I probably will because I like football, but it will pain me to watch it because we’re not in it.”
A year ago, confetti rained down on Moore and the Wolverines at NRG Stadium in Houston after they beat Washington for the program’s first NCAA title since 1997.
Michigan fell short of its ultimate goal in 2024, finishing 8-5 in the first year of the post-Jim Harbaugh era, but it played its best football down the stretch, especially on defense. They overpowered a lowly Northwestern team in a 50-6 win in Nov. 23 and continued its defensive prowess the following week, holding OSU’s high-octane offense to a season-low 252 yards.
Despite Michigan’s four top defensive players, and a few on offense, opting out of the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama on Dec. 31, the team pulled off another huge upset, winning 19-13 against the Tide, which was playing close to full strength.
Whatever happens Monday night, the implications of Michigan’s win over OSU won’t change, Moore said.
“For us, it’s all about winning that game, so regardless what they do — and they’ve got a great football team and had a great run in the playoffs — it’s about winning that game,” Moore said. “It’s not what they did after. For us, it’s all about, we won that game and continued on that momentum after that.”
For Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito, it was his first taste of the storied rivalry. His unit, led by star defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, stymied OSU’s run game and generated enough pressure to make quarterback Will Howard uncomfortable.
No other team has been able to replicate Michigan’s success against OSU since. The Buckeyes have averaged 37 points and 447.7 yards in their playoff wins over No. 9 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon and No. 5 Texas.
“I don’t really care what they do,” Esposito said of the Buckeyes at the MHSFCA Convention. “I was excited to be in the environment. It was my first time being a part of The Game as a coach, and the way our guys answered the bell, it can never be taken away. It was unbelievable.”
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