Michigan acting coach Sherrone Moore gets aggressive, outduels Ryan Day

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Sherrone Moore threw his conservative game plan of the last two weeks out the window on Saturday.

Michigan’s acting head coach showed his most aggressive side yet in the Wolverines’ 30-24 win over arch rival Ohio State, choosing to go for it on fourth down on four separate occasions while outdueling Buckeyes coach Ryan Day.

The result netted Day his third loss to Michigan in as many years, casting long-term doubt about his status in Columbus, while Moore — tasked with replacing the suspended Jim Harbaugh the last three games — apparently called his shot in the hours leading up to the game.

“Coach Moore has said from the get-go he was going to call his most aggressive game he’s ever called,” Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy said. “For the big boys, for Blake (Corum), for myself — it was music to our ears.”

Michigan (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) had largely featured a one-dimensional offense in recent weeks, scoring victories over Penn State and Maryland via the ground. At one point against the Nittany Lions, the Moore-led offense ran the football 32 straight times. And while the run-game dominated the menu again on Saturday, Moore ratcheted up the aggressiveness, too.

After Will Johnson jumped a route and intercepted a Kyle McCord pass in the first quarter, Michigan’s offense set up inside the Ohio State 10-yard line and responded by running it three straight times. On fourth-and-goal from inside the 1, Moore made the call to give it Corum one more time — and the program’s No. 1 back answered it.

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“(He said) he’s emptying the tank — and that’s what he did,” Corum, who rushed 22 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns. “When we get in those fourth-and-1s, coach Moore always says ‘smash.’ Then you have AJ Barner over there screaming in his Triple H voice, ‘It’s time to play the game.’

“It gets me hyped up, like I’ve got to score.”

They followed it up on the very next drive, with Michigan having the ball on fourth-and-1 at the Ohio State 27-yard line and field-goal range in site. Instead, Moore called a bootleg pass from McCarthy to tight end Colston Loveland, who broke out wide and turned the catch into seven yards. The play not only kept the drive going, but helped Michigan set up McCarthy’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Roman Wilson.

“The players just practiced so well this week,” Moore said. “They practice really well every week, and you have the confidence that they’re going to execute at a high level.

“I told them we were going to be aggressive, and wanted to be aggressive, wanted to attack it.”

Meanwhile, his counterpart Day, who touted his team’s toughness earlier in the season following a win at Notre Dame, came across as the more conservative coach. Ohio State elected to punt on fourth-and-1 at its own 46-yard line in the first quarter, then let 35 seconds run off the clock before halftime to try a failed 52-yard field goal.

The missed points proved costly during the final drive of the game, when the Buckeyes — down by six — reached the Michigan 37-yard line before throwing a game-sealing interception.

Michigan, despite being outgained on the field, made fewer mistakes during the game and came up clutch when it mattered most. Afterwards, Moore celebrated another victory with his players while Day, with a 56-7 record as head coach at Ohio State, returns to Columbus having to explain another loss to the Wolverines.

“This game is something we’ve prepared for 365 (days a year),” Moore said. “It’s not a one-week affair; it’s not something we just drew up that week. It’s planned out very strategically.”