Entering Saturday afternoon’s game against Central Michigan in Ann Arbor, the biggest mystery before Monday was who would be the interim head coach for No. 23 Michigan.
With current head coach Sherrone Moore set to start a university-imposed two-game suspension for his role in Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal between the 2021 and 2023 seasons — Moore also has been suspended for an additional game by the NCAA in 2026 — it was announced Monday that associate head coach Biff Poggi will be Michigan’s acting head coach from 12:01 a.m. Saturday through 11:59 p.m. of Michigan’s Sept. 20 game against Nebraska.
An assistant on former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh’s staff, Poggi was hired as associate head coach during the offseason after being fired as Charlotte’s head coach with two games remaining in 2024.
Moore added that other than Poggi, the sideline operation will remain the same with Chip Lindsey calling the plays on offense, Wink Martindale handling the defense and J.B. Brown in charge of the special teams.
“The knowledge of the players was huge,” Moore said of why Poggi will be the interim head coach. “And then, obviously, his experience as a high school head coach, as a (college) head coach. But just in general, his love for the players, importantly, his knowledge of everybody in our building and keeping the cohesion in the building was huge.”
Michigan (1-1) will try to bounce back from a 24-13 road loss at then-No. 18 Oklahoma last week.
Take away a 75-yard touchdown run in the third quarter by running back Justice Haynes, the Wolverines amassed just 213 yards of total offense and went 3 of 14 on third-down conversions.
Back at home this week against an opponent from the Mid-American Conference, the Wolverines hope to see continued growth from highly touted freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, who completed 9 of 24 passes for 142 yards against Oklahoma.
On defense, Michigan held its own against Oklahoma and could get a big boost this week with the return of Rod Moore, an important member of Michigan’s secondary in the 2023 season, when it won the national championship.
Moore missed last season with a torn ACL and torn meniscus in his left knee.
“High probability that Rod Moore plays in the game on Saturday,” Sherrone Moore said. “But we’ll see. We want to make sure as the week goes on, he feels right.”
Michigan’s opponent on Saturday, Central Michigan, is a mirror image in that it prefers to utilize multiple tight ends and a run-first attack on offense.
It will be the third straight road game to start the season for the Chippewas, who won 16-14 vs. San Jose State in the opener before falling 45-17 against Pitt last weekend.
Central Michigan featured a rare three-quarterback timeshare against Pitt with Joe Labas, Jadyn Glasses and Angel Flores each getting snaps.
Despite his team rushing for only 40 yards against Pitt, first-year Central Michigan head coach Matt Drinkall said he likes the potential of the Chippewas heading into Saturday’s game in Ann Arbor.
“I’m as excited as I’ve been because there’s still an element of unknown,” Drinkall said. “I’m still learning a lot about our guys, but I’m really, really encouraged about where we’re at. I’m excited about where we’re at.”
