Everything Sherrone Moore said after Michigan's 31-20 win over Michigan State

On Justice Haynes’ night

It was great. Wanted to have him back, to get him back. Obviously, he’s an explosive player, a player that is one of the best running backs in the country in our eyes, and it was awesome to have him back. He ran so hard. He ran physical, 26 carries for 153 yards, two touchdowns, averaging 5.8 yards a carry. He continues to play at a high level. It was huge to have him back, but having Jordan as your two for 15 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown is pretty good too, so. We got a good running back tandem back there that plays physical.

They’ll wear you down. I thought the offensive line played physical today, and it’s a young, young group. We keep talking about a freshman at left tackle and right guard and right tackle, and those guys played in sync today. To watch that run game today was really exciting.

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On Jimmy Rolder’s day

Yeah, Jimmy played outstanding. Ten tackles, I think two tackles for loss, fumble recovery, and a sack. Just elite. Just played really well. He played outstanding. This guy played really well. I thought the defense overall, you know, there’s some plays that we let get out because we didn’t have contain, and we got to close the gap and just play more physical, can’t jump around those blocks. But, you know, Jimmy, just the defense in general, they play so hard. They play so physical, and they continue to do that. And we clean up those little things that will help us and just make us an elite defense that we are.

On Cole Sullivan’s status

We’ll see. You know, we’ll see exactly what it is. So, we’ll figure out more as we get back to Ann Arbor.

On what does swinging the rivalry back Michigan’s way mean to him

It means everything. We talked ad nauseam about how important this game was throughout the week. We talked about it after the game against Washington, and then on Tuesday, we talked about the history of the rivalry, what it means to win this game for the state, for the city, you know, the records. So, it means everything for us to have won this game and have Paul back at home again.

On whether it was a decision to be more efficient in the run game against MSU

I think really the biggest thing, it wasn’t, you know, dictated before the game. I think before the game, we want to be balanced. And I think when you get into a game, as it goes, there’s a piece that, as we were throwing the ball and then we were completing the ball, part of the rushing attack was this guy to my right and he makes it dangerous to do both.

So, it wasn’t really a selection, but as we got into the game and the defense started to mold him down, we just felt like we had to milk the clock and get the win and we really felt like those direct runs right at him were working. You’ve got to have selfless people on your team to do that.

You’ve got to have team over me guys that we always talk about. And that’s what our quarterback is. That’s what our receivers are. That’s what our defense is. And you’ll see what the next game looks like as far as we go. But it was one of those games that, guys, you know, we had to lean on him a little bit and run the clock out.

On setting the tone in the second half

Yeah, we knew when we went into the – we always talk about the middle eight and what that means as a team. And we got in that – we went down and scored that first drive, that gave us a lot of momentum. And there were some plays that we thought would hit, and they did.

And when you hit a first play for 20-something yards, 30-something yards, you want to get back to it and keep going. So the momentum, we just took the momentum and just wanted to keep rolling with it.

On the penalties

Yeah, can I add just how proud I am of our players, but not respond to a lot of that? Because it could have been – 12 is a lot. It could have been easy for them to do that.

And that was an emphasis all week of want to play clean football. Want to play disciplined football. Want to strain for 60 minutes within the whistles and felt really proud of our team for doing that. Because there was a lot of times they couldn’t. They could have, but retaliated. But to be disciplined like that speaks to a lot of these young men and their thought process. And we talked about the team over me.

On the fourth down stops by the defense

I mean, first of all, the fourth-down stops were just unbelievable. Just the effort that it takes to do that. And you pretty much know the kind of plays you’re going to get in those scenarios. I think that speaks to the preparation that our coaches have done, but really to the effort and the thought process of our players and how hard they practice, how hard they prepare for those moments, and intentionality when we prepare and practice. Because you’re not going to get those full-speed reps, but you’ve got to practice with that mentality. So just proud of them for those moments.

On whether the rivalry lived up to its chippiness

I’m just proud of my players and how they responded and how – we always talk about reacting versus responding. And they didn’t react. They didn’t just throw a punch or do whatever. They responded, and they responded with their pads. So the rivalry is the rivalry.

I’ve been a part of it now for, what, eight years? It’s nuts. But it’s great to be a part of. I love it. You know, I never want it to stop. And I’m just proud – again, proud of the players for conducting themselves the right way. And we’ll continue to do that as we go through the season.

On how much Justice Haynes wanted to play in the MSU game

He was looking forward to it a lot. Just his work ethic, what he does. He loves football so much. He’s always in the room. He’s always in the film room. Our guys are always in the office. So, I knew that he would come back and be ready to go, and he did a heck of a job for us.

On assessing the play of the defense

I feel great. I feel great about the defense. And, yeah, there’s things we’re going to have to fix and work on because you’re never perfect, and there’s plays that got out that they know that we have to fix. But he’s a super athletic quarterback. I give a ton of credit to their staff, Michigan State staff, and that kid, Aidan Chiles. He’s an exceptional player, and he’s a really good player. So, for what our defense did in keeping him in the pocket, keeping him honed in, a lot of respect for our staff and our players for what they did.

On his thoughts about the controversy around the MSU offside call

Yeah, we won. I’m not worried about that.