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Michigan Football Sherrone Moore saves his season with MSU win

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Michigan Football Sherrone Moore saves his season with MSU win

They had to have it. Especially the head coach.

This was evident at the end when the teams got into a scuffle before they could clear the field. Some crowding. A headbutt. And coaches and referees try to prevent escalation.

They did so, and the second incident in the tunnel was prevented.

Still, that's exactly what this rivalry means. For better or worse, this game is important, even if the teams struggle meh.

There is pride and there are coaches trying to establish themselves. For the first time since 1995, each program was led by a new coach.

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However, Sherrone Moore doesn't have the patience that Jonathan Smith does. They start in different places, very different places, and for Moore, a losing record in his first season is tough, not to mention harsh, and makes long-term survival difficult.

And so it was not surprising that he changed his starting quarterback again.

All Michigan football had to do was get back to the start to save the season, at least for now. Well, that and a few tricks in the Wolverines' 24-17 win on Saturday.

Hey, if you're playing your rival and a loss would make it difficult to reach a bowl game, and the first-year head coach is going to do everything he can to change the dismal story of the season, yeah, change the quarterbacks – again – and, my God, try a flea flicker.

And a halfback pass.

And a direct snap to a receiver and then a fake reversal.

Get a four-down stop.

And finally, you give the ball to the quarterback, who can't throw but can run, and ask him to run even though the defense knows what's coming.

Just imagine what?

Oh, and don't commit any punishment.

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Again Moore had to try something. Lose to MSU and a losing record is more than possible with Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State still out there.

However, if you defeat the Spartans, the narrative takes a break, at least for a week.

So, yeah, back to the start…of the season and the quarterback who won the starting job in training camp.

What harm could it do?

Welcome back, Davis Warren.

All he had to do was make a few throws and not turn the ball over. He did both, and the Wolverines held off the Spartans, giving them their third straight win in the series and a good chance at a bowl bid.

Michigan State outran UM and controlled the time of possession. It didn't matter. The Wolverines made just enough plays on offense and hampered the Spartans, particularly Aidan Chiles, on defense.

MSU's quarterback rarely had time to sit back and plant his feet. Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham chased him out of the pocket all night, and while the Wolverines gave up some rushing yards and a few passing plays on screens and dumpdowns, they held MSU to fewer than 100 yards in the first three quarters.

But as opportunistic as the defense was, the Wolverines had to find something on offense. They had scored a measly touchdown against Illinois the week before.

And so the Jack Tuttle experiment at quarterback was over. Tuttle got the start after Alex Orji, who got the start after Davis.

Davis, who had shown the surest hand in training camp, lost the job because he couldn't stop turning the ball over. But he had also made plays, and Moore figured Warren would come back with more focus on the details and less prone to making mistakes.

He guessed correctly.

Despite a slow start, Warren made plays, caught critical third downs and gave his team and coaches a chance to get creative.

The game's slickest play came early in the fourth when Warren threw to Donovan Edwards, who took a few steps toward the sideline before slowing, planting his foot and firing a pass to Colston Loveland.

Colston was 10 yards away from the defense, which bit Edwards down the field. The tight end easily stepped into the end zone. Moore stepped up the sideline.

The smoothest driveHowever, came early in the third when Moore and Kirk Campbell – yes, that Kirk Campbell – capitalized on a clean third-down conversion when Warren Semaj hit Moore on a 9-yard curl.

From then on, the coaching couple got creative.

Orji grabbed the quarterback and slid 29 yards from the left edge. Warren then hit Tyler Morris with a flea flicker for 23 yards. Morgan then took a direct snap, faked a reverse and darted around the end for 7 yards.

After a couple of runs from Kalel Mullings, Orji came back to finish the drive. He found a lane on the right side and scored from two yards out on third down.

He did it again after the defense stopped MSU near the red zone on its final drive on fourth down. The Spartans had all three timeouts. The Wolverines needed a first down.

Orji got one in his first game. Then he got another three runs to end the game after MSU burned its timeouts.

He knelt and the celebration began. Warren made the completions. Orji helped with some renovations. The coaches called for the trick plays, and Moore will calm the noise after beating his rival.

Contact Shawn Windsor: [email protected]. Follow him @shawnwindsor.

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