Sherrone Moore quick-hitters: Michigan's path to victory over Ohio State, Tony Alford, Dominic Zvada, more

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore met with the media Monday morning ahead of his team’s game against Ohio State. Here are bullet points on the most notable things he said.

Sherrone Moore quick-hitters

• Michigan graduate safety Rod Moore will miss Saturday’s game and is most likely out for the season.

• Here’s what Moore said about graduate fullback / tight end Max Bredeson: “X-rays, we’ll see. Didn’t look great, but if anyone can push through it, it’s Max Bredeson. We’ll know more as we go through the week.”

• Junior wide receiver Semaj Morgan “will be fine,” and senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann “will be day to day.”

• What Moore did to beat Ohio State today: “A lot. Woke up, worked out, prayed, watched a lot of film, met with our coaches, met with our staff, already met with the players. Anything possible, and then just try to be in the same routine that we’ve done and create the edge that we need to win the game.”

• On how Michigan has flipped the rivalry with Ohio State by winning four in a row, Moore pointed to Wolverine players having their best games. He said the game plans have been good, but it’s ultimately been the players.

• Ohio State’s passing attack is “potent,” with three “elite” receivers in Brandon Innis, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, along with an “elite” quarterback in Julian Sayin. Moore noted that tight end Max Klare is also “really good.”

• Moore referred to Ohio State as the “best team in the country.”

• On Michigan blowing out Maryland last weekend in terms of readying themselves for the test against Ohio State, Moore said that “momentum is a real thing,” and added that it “doesn’t mean anything” in terms of still having to prepare.

• Michigan has a four-game win streak over Ohio State, but Moore said “other games don’t matter,” and that this is a “new team” with a “new staff, new players” that understand what this game is about.

• Michigan running backs coach Tony Alford has been “outstanding,” and Moore knew that he was a “home-run hire” last March. Moore pointed out that there have been three 100-yard rushers in games this season.

• With the expanded College Football Playoff, everything may not be on the line for both sides in some years, including this one, but Moore doesn’t think the “intensity” is lessened at all.

• Moore has talked to offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who’s coached for Auburn in the Iron Bowl, and heard about that rivalry with Alabama, but believes this one with Ohio State is “different. … It’s hard to describe it.” Moore told a story about running out onto the field for pregame warmups last year with senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham, who said, “Yeah, this is different.” Moore said there’s an “intensity and aura that you can’t describe until you’re on the the field.”

• Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood has “grown so fast.” He was watching film with graduate wideout Donaven McCulley and other receivers until 11:45 last night, and was in this morning to watch tape with Lindsey.

• The biggest difference between freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh earlier in the season to now is that he knows where to be and what to do. He was always making plays in practice, but now the Wolverines have the ability to put him at different positions and trust he will be in the right spots.

• Michigan has out-scored Ohio State in second halves during its four-game win streak because the players want to be “unbreakable.” Moore noted once again, however, that this is a “new game, new year.”

• Michigan has talked about what’s at stake with the College Football Playoff, and that being on the line is “different than last year.”

• On how Michigan has been able to meet the moment against Ohio State in recent seasons, Moore said with a bit of a chuckle, “It ain’t me. It’s the players.”

• It was “huge” for senior kicker Dominic Zvada to make his last field goal against Maryland — to give him “needed confidence.” Moore said that Zvada hasn’t had the season he wanted, but he’s making the kicks the Wolverines need him to.

• On how Michigan can win the game against Ohio State: “One, you’ve got to win the line of scrimmage. Always got to do that. You can’t let the outside things, outside noise control the preparation and the progress of what we’re doing and the process of what we’re doing, because there are a lot of things going on, right? It’s College GameDay, it’s Big Noon Kickoff, it’s this, it’s that. It’s a lot of people here. But, at the end of the day, we have to channel our focus on our preparation. That’s how you win, you prepare the way we prepared those last three games.”