Dan Rubenstein evaluates Sherrone Moore as a head coach

Sherrone Moore will lead Michigan onto the field on Saturday against Ohio State with a trip to the College Football Playoff on the line, but should the Wolverines feel confident in Moore despite his 2-0 record as acting head coach?

Co-host of The Solid Verbal, Dan Rubenstein, joined On3’s Andy Staples on Wednesday to discuss the blockbuster matchup and reminded everyone that Michigan’s success over the past two weeks is still Jim Harbaugh’s doing.

“Even excusing all of the Michigan off-field spying allegations and all of that — you have a suspension that comes from that,” Rubenstein told Staples. “And that gives us head coach Sherrone Moore, but only on Saturday because Harbaugh coaches during the week. It kind of seems — and maybe it’s just a two-game sample size — that Michigan fans got very upset when I suggested that Sherrone Moore doesn’t trust JJ McCarthy. 3rd & 6 against Maryland at midfield, not throwing it and not going for it on fourth down. Interesting.

“He is coaching like an offensive lineman as a head coach.”

Before the Maryland win, Moore ended up calling 32 consecutive run plays during the 24-15 win over Penn State, which led to star running back Blake Corum ending the game with 26 rushes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback JJ McCarthy threw eight passes during the contest — and he could have thrown less because of how dominant Corum and Donovan Edwards were on the ground.

McCarthy would go on to throw 23 passes against the Terrapins but failed to find the endzone during the contest. Still, Moore pounded Maryland with 45 rushing calls during the game, which amassed 150 total yards and was led by Corum’s 28 rushes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

The win would not only improve Michigan to 11-0, but it was the 1,000th program victory for Michigan, and Moore will always go down in the record books as having coached the Wolverines to that landmark victory.

Whether this leads to a head coaching job in the near future remains to be seen — but he can expedite the process with a win over Ohio State in The Game, even if he isn’t the one coaching the entire team throughout the week.

Michigan, hosting Ohio State, opened as a 3.5-point favorite to win The Game, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The over/under is set at 47.5 total points. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon ET live on FOX.