Yet another win in the Michigan Wolverines’ bag. Sherrone Moore’s program is now running high with a 3-1 record. The Wolverines managed to land Matt Rhule’s Nebraska Cornhuskers their 28th loss against a ranked team in a row on Saturday, September 20. “Michigan loves Jordan Marshall, but it’s clear as of now that [Justice] Haynes is the Wolverines’ No. 1 back. And I don’t see that changing this week. While Nebraska has an elite pass defense, it’s not great against the run,” Managing Editor Trent Knoop had already made his crystal ball predictions. Moore’s happy about the win, but being suspended keeps his celebration on pause. On the flip side, interim coach Biff Poggi doesn’t do modest celebrations.
Moore is still serving his two-game suspension after his alleged involvement in the Connor Stalions sign-stealing drama. And Poggi is already coming off with flying colors as the one filling his spot momentarily. Under Poggi, Moore’s boys sealed a dominant 63-6 win over Central Michigan. They then landed a big blow on Rhule’s squad, travelling to Lincoln. And Poggi’s celebration has to be grand. In 1985, Poggi was engaged to Amelia Jean “Amy” Mix, a fellow member of Duke University’s class of 1985. The very next year, in March 1986, the couple sealed the knot.
On September 20, CBS Sports College Football tweeted a clip from the interim coach’s post-game interview. Looks like while watching the game, he had already made his plans. “I’m gonna eat some Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream with my wife and smoke a cuban cigar… and then probably go the hospital,” Poggi was ready with the answer. Well, the coach got to celebrate with the love of his life, who has been beside him through thick and thin.
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Thanks to the Michigan boys, who even without Moore, scored an A+ on their report card. Poggi took over the sidelines, leaning on Michigan’s tried-and-true formula, the good old Jim Harbaugh scheme. Run the ball and deliver in the clutch, the same approach Harbaugh used to claim a national title just two seasons back. And Poggi could not be prouder of the Michigan players for how beautifully they have executed without their head coach, Moore, being on the field. “I feel so happy for Sherrone Moore, because the building really rallied around him these last two weeks,” Poggi said postgame. “I’ll die a happy man somewhere.” But what worked out in the Wolverines’ favor?
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Maybe Poggi kept it all simple. Michigan controlled the clock on the ground, and when the offense faltered, the defense stepped up. Even without Moore, the Wolverines stayed patient, using big runs and key stops to finally break a 28-game skid against AP Top 25 teams. Now, after the win, is Poggi missing Harbaugh more since he was the former head coach’s “right hand”?
The great Jim Harbaugh-Biff Poggi dynamic
Analyst Joel Klatt spilled details from the Ann Arbor camp when it was ruled by the power duo Harbaugh-Poggi. “What Jim did post-COVID wasn’t about football. It was about people,” the analyst noted. Looks like with Poggi’s influence, Harbaugh chose to add more compassion to his coaching scheme, which helped him connect with the players in better ways.
Klatt said, “One of the things that they did is they would meet multiple times a day. And Jim would say like, ‘Hey, this is how I’m feeling, Biff. I really loved the way the kids practice. Like, I love that.’ And Biff would be like, ‘Tell them. Tell them authentically from your heart.’” Even though Poggi is now celebrated for being Moore’s associate head coach and being under Harbaugh earlier, he served as the head coach at Charlotte for two seasons.
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Before the Nebraska vs Michigan face-off, Poggi landed in a light-hearted controversy. On September 19, former Penn State offensive tackle Landon Tengwall stirred Poggi’s pot. He wrote on X, “Biff recruited me to St. Frances after my freshman year of HS. Absolutely legendary dude. But Nick didn’t lie, Biff definitely ‘took care’ of his guys at St. Frances 😂.” But what’s the hoopla all about?