Texas dominates Michigan: Sherrone Moore's message to his team after loss

Chris Breiler | Sep 7, 2024

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore walks off the field after the 31-12 loss to Texas at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

This postgame press conference certainly had an unusual feeling for head coach Sherrone Moore. For the first time since the 2020 season, the Michigan Wolverines had suffered their first loss at Michigan Stadium. The loss snapped a 23-game winning streak at home, along with raising questions about how much needs to improve with this football program moving forward.

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore hugs Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian after 31-12 loss at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, September 7, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Here was Moore's response to four key questions following Michigan's 31-12 loss to Texas on Saturday.

His message to his team after the loss

"My message to the team was that it’s going to take resolve. We haven’t lost here in a while. You don’t like losing. We didn’t lose at all last year. We lost once, twice the year before. So for us, it’s like you don’t ever want to lose, so you’re never thinking about the loss. But for them and for us, I just think about them. I think about how they feel, and what are we gonna do to get better? That’s all we’re worried about right now. We’re gonna take everything we can in all three phases to get better in every little piece."

"And my message to them was we have to do it together. We can’t finger point, and you find out who you are as a team when adversity strikes. And to watch our guys, at the end, fight, the offense fight, go down and score. They easily could have just kicked it in, and our defense could have done the same thing. The second half, they only allowed the touchdown, which we don’t want. But they at least fought. So that gives you some sign that there’s resolve there. But now we've got to put the things in place so the first half doesn’t go the way it did."

On what needs to improve

"For us, that’s a loss. We haven’t had one of these in a long time, so you definitely feel it. Our kids feel it now. They feel it more than anybody. So definitely feel bad for them and how they feel. But we know on all sides of the ball, all three phases, we've got a lot to work on. We've just got to get better at the fine details and can’t have penalties and turnovers. So those are the things right now. We've got to keep to working."

"I think we just have to watch the film and evaluate where we’re at. I thought there was some positive runs in there. And when you get behind, you start to throw the ball a little bit more. So we've just got to do a better job executing the fundamental little details in all phases on offense and we’ll get better."

"We’re going to watch the film and figure that out. And I don’t want to make a knee-jerk reaction and just say something after we haven’t watched the film. So watch it, evaluate it. See what we need to do to put the right people in the right places to make us successful, and that’s we’re going to do."

Michigan's mindset at halftime

"I asked the team if they thought was over, and everybody was a resounding 'no'. So no, I never thought that the game was just slipping away. For us, we were going to fight until the end, regardless of what the score is. And I felt like our guys fought at the end. And for us, it was just, we've got to get better at those little things."

Did he ever considering using true freshman QB Jadyn Davis?

"No, I mean the two picks, like I said, it’s a whole team effort. Interceptions aren’t always just on the quarterback. It’s got to be a whole collective effort on things. So he did a good job of putting the ball where it needed to be. The one throw he had on the seam was probably his worst throw where the guy was open. But besides that, the two picks happened because the one was tipped in the receiver's hands and the other one we didn’t run the right route. So in that case, he did a good job managing it. So we've got to do a better job as pass catchers, too."

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