An emotional Sherrone Moore was candid after his Michigan Wolverines' 27-9 loss to No. 1 Ohio State Saturday in Ann Arbor, crediting Ohio State for outplaying and out-executing his team, particularly in the second half.
"I'm very disappointed in the result. Credit to them," Moore said. "They outplayed us today. So [we've] got a lot to work on.
"They just played better. They executed better. We didn't play good enough. We didn't execute good enough. They did when it mattered and they played a better game."
“They just played better. They executed better.”– Sherrone Moore
When asked about his emotions and how he's feeling, Moore confirmed what no fan of either team in this series needs to be told.
"It stings. You sting for the seniors. You sting for the program," he said. "When you're in this 24/7, when you're in this for 365, this hurts. You work tirelessly to make this be successful, so it's not just about me, it's really about the kids and all of the hard work that goes in. I'll put it on me."
Moore admitted his surprise at how Ohio State controlled the line of scrimmage, especially late in the game, stating Michigan failed to stop the run effectively when it mattered most.
"They did a really good job of leaning on us," Moore said. "We didn't do a good enough job stopping the run."
He noted the offense lost rhythm in the second half. While they wanted to be balanced, they had to abandon the run late as the deficit grew. He also mentioned that young offensive players were "rerouted" and disruptive coverages prevented them from finding a rhythm.
On the 35-yard toss to Jeremiah Smith that was reviewed but later upheld for an Ohio State touchdown to make it 10-6 early in the second quarter, Moore did not believe Smith had control.
"On the Jeremiah Smith fumble, or catch they thought was a fumble, they said that he had control of it. Didn't look like he had control of it, but at the end of the day, it's not my decision on what the officials say.
"We start out the game with a pick with them throwing at Jeremiah Smith and at that point, I think it's 6-3 and if that's a touchback that gives us a little momentum. It was a big piece, but we've got to do the other things to go win."
The recurring theme of his postgame press conference was pain and Moore emphasized that pain, saying they have "364 days" to figure out how to win this game again, but shifted focus to getting his program's 10th win.
