Michigan EDGE Derrick Moore on Jeremiah Smith comments, Ohio State rivalry: 'See y'all in November ... we're gonna see'

Michigan Wolverines football senior EDGE Derrick Moore woke up around 6 a.m. the morning of Nov. 30, 2024, in his hotel room, and turned on the TV. He saw chatter about that day’s Michigan-Ohio State game and continued to notice nobody believed in the Wolverines’ chances as 19.5-point underdogs.

“For some reason, I just turned on the news,” Moore recalled. “Turning on the news and watching and hearing a lot of people doubting us — even from our own fans doubting us.

“When it was time to go, we pretty much just huddled up, had a talk and said, ‘This is all we got, this is all we need. Who all we have on that bus with us, that’s all we need right here to go out and compete.’”

That doubt helped fuel the fire, but Michigan had plenty of gas left in the tank despite entering the game against a national title contender with a 6-5 record. Ohio State players attempted to intimidate the Wolverines before the game — but failed, and only added more motivation.

Michigan’s defense put on an incredible show in a 13-10 win for the ages, the Wolverines’ fourth-straight victory over Ohio State.

“That game right there meant a lot to our whole team — also the university, as well,” the Michigan standout said. “Going on the road at Ohio State and pretty much beating the talk that we were gonna lose that game because we were 6-5 at the time.

“When we came out, we pretty much told each other like, we don’t have anything to lose, so let’s just go out and try to ruin their season and just dominate them the best that we can.”

Ohio State finished the season fourth in the Big Ten with a 10-2 record but sneaked in the College Football Playoff, ran the table and won the final over Notre Dame.

With a laugh, Moore confirmed he was indeed not rooting for Ohio State in the playoff. While he gave them credit for their run, he also acknowledged that Michigan beat them on their own turf.

“First, I’d like to congratulate them on the win,” Moore said. “But you know it’s not a real win if y’all didn’t beat us. But I’m gonna congratulate them on the win, but this year it’s gonna be different.

“At the end of the day, they won. They deserved it. They worked hard for it. Can’t take anything away from them.”

Moore was asked if Michigan has a sense of ‘pride’ for having beaten the national champions.

“I wouldn’t want to say it’s ‘pride.’ We just know if you’re on either team or a fan or part of either team, you just know how important that game is,” Moore said of the regular-season finale. “With this playoff extension, if the playoff extension wasn’t around, they wouldn’t have won the national championship. So, we pretty much look at it like, hey, man, y’all had a nice little, easy little run, but we helped y’all along the way. We pretty much helped y’all build back up.”

Ohio State sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith — who had a solid game against Michigan with 5 catches for 35 yards and a controversial touchdown on a missed offensive pass interference — made headlines earlier this summer when he guaranteed two victories over the Maize and Blue in an interview with The Athletic.

“I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north,” said Smith, who’s 0-1 against Michigan. “I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.””

Moore was asked if had a reaction to Smith’s remarks.

“I don’t really have any reaction to it,” said Moore, who’s 3-0 against Ohio State. “All I can say to that is see y’all in November. If that’s how feels, that’s how he can feel — but when November comes around and it’s time to play, we’re gonna see.”