ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Michigan Wolverines are heading into their matchup against the Ohio State Buckeyes with a Black head coach for the first time in the program’s 144-year history.
Update: Michigan outlasts Ohio State for 3rd straight win in rivalry game, will play for Big Ten title
The first African-American head coach for the Wolverines occurred when school legend and current running backs coach Mike Hart filled in for the suspended Jim Harbaugh in the second half of a 35-7 home win over the UNLV Rebels in week two.
Michigan began competing in intercollegiate football in 1879 and joined the Big Ten Conference in 1896; before week two, the Wolverines had never had an African-American head coach.
The more things change, the more they stay the same, as now acting head coach Sherrone Moore will become the first African American head coach in 144 years to coach in The Game against the Buckeyes.
After serving a self-imposed three-game ban earlier this season, Harbaugh appointed Hart, amongst others, as head coach for those three games, including Moore, who got his first victory when the Wolverines took down Bowling Green in a 31-6 beat down.
Read: Defense helps Michigan football overcome turnover-riddled game in 31-6 victory against Bowling Green
Moore, who is currently 3-0 while filling in for Harbaugh, who is serving another three-game suspension, this time levied by the Big Ten Conference, went to Happy Valley, where he called 32 straight run plays to defeat Penn State 24-15 after a tumultuous 24 hours.
Moore got laughed at by the media and amongst his peers for showing emotions after the hard-fought victory, but to the Michigan faithful, his happy tears showed not only how much pressure he was facing but how much he cared for the program and its success.
“I want to thank the Lord, coach (Jim) Harbaugh, I love you, man, this is for you,” said tearfully by Moore. “This win is for this university, the president, our athletic director, we got the best players, the alumni and the best university in the country. I love these guys, man. These guys did it.”
Read: Resilience, leadership, toughness help Michigan football steal road victory in Happy Valley
Moore filled in admirably when the Wolverines cheated defeat thanks to a plethora of self-inflicted wounds by the Maryland Terrapins in a 31-24 victory, becoming the first football program of any kind to reach the 1,000th-win milestone.
Those back-to-back road victories showed that Moore could handle the pressure as the leader of men. But, he, the program, and the players have never been in a situation like they’ll be on Saturday afternoon when they return to The Big House to host Ohio State on senior day.
Read: Self-inflicted wounds by Maryland helps Michigan football cheat defeat in historic fashion
There will be some nerve-racking moments that could affect the players and the staff, which Harbaugh was used to as he was once a player and now a coach who has grown accustomed to those pressurized moments.
For instance, when the Buckeyes defense gives McCarthy an unsuspecting look, he could generally go to Harbaugh for the proper adjustments, but he won’t be in attendance, so it will be up to Moore to galvanize the team.
However, the Wolverines have been prepping for situations such as the predicament they are currently facing as an 11-0 team is coming into town with one goal in mind: to remain unblemished.
Harbaugh said his team is battle-tested.
“Michigan is really a battle-tested team, but it’s about empowering people,” said Harbaugh. “It’s about empowering our coaches and our players as they have done an amazing job thus far. I just think back over the last five to six weeks where it’s been like a high-pitched siren, like a deafening, ear-piercing noise, but after a while, you start to tolerate it, and then before you know it, you start to block it out. We just need to keep the priorities right and keep the priorities straight, which is faith, family, and football.”
The Game
The Buckeyes haven’t been listed as an underdog to a Big Ten opponent since 2018 when they were home underdogs to Michigan.
But that streak has since ended as the Wolverines are three-point favorites in the battle of the undefeated.
Like in 2022, The Game will be for all the marbles, as the winner will advance to the Big Ten Championship, where they will face the Iowa Hawkeyes inside Lucus Oil Stadium.
The Wolverines have won the previous two matchups by double-digits, and they’re currently riding on a 23-game winning streak against Big Ten schools, which includes the last two Big Ten Championships.
Many media members have been putting Ohio State coach Ryan Day on the hot seat, saying he has the most pressure to win The Game as he has lost the last two matchups.
But, this year, he will face Moore, who has the score of the game on his shoulders and the score of life surrounding him as he is a representation of what many never thought they would see grace the sidelines as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines football team.
Depending on Harbaugh and possible future suspensions for the 2024 season, if he decides to jump to the NFL, Moore, with a victory against the Buckeyes, may be auditioning for his future role as the leading man for team 145.
