Michigan coach Sherrone Moore will serve the second of his three-game suspension in Week 4 when the Wolverines head to Nebraska for a marquee Big Ten showdown. Michigan handled its first game without Moore on the sidelines just fine, dismantling Central Michigan 63-3 in Week 3 with associate head coach (and former Charlotte coach) Biff Poggi leading the way as the interim boss.
Moore’s suspension is the result of the NCAA’s investigation in Michigan’s sign-stealing scandal from the 2023 season that, somewhat poetically, reached its pinnacle when former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions was spotted on the sidelines of a Central Michigan game in Chippewas gear.
Sherrone Moore suspension dates
Moore will miss three games over the course of the 2025 and 2026 seasons, including the next two games on Michigan’s schedule.
The absences for the CMU and Nebraska games were self-imposed suspensions by Michigan prior to the NCAA offering its final verdict, with the NCAA adding a suspension for next year’s opener in Germany. The NCAA added the third game to Moore’s suspension due to the coach’s lack of cooperation with the investigation; they allege that he deleting a thread of 52 text messages with Stalions.
Moore was allowed to coach the team all the way up until the Central Michigan game but was prohibited from all team activities leading into the Nebraska showdown. Michigan structured the initial suspension so Moore would be available to coach in Week 2 at his alma mater (Oklahoma), but now the Wolverines have to navigate this stretch without their coach.
Who is Biff Poggi?
Michigan fans will be familiar with Poggi from his time in Ann Arbor as the associate head coach under former coach Jim Harbaugh from 2021-22 before leaving to be the coach at Charlotte from 2023-24. The 65-year-old former hedge fund manager and high school coach went 6-16 in his two seasons in charge of the 49ers, returning to Michigan this season as the associate head coach for Moore.
Though Poggi showed no issues coaching against an overmatched Central Michigan squad, this week’s matchup vs. the Cornhuskers offers a more obvious challenge as a slight (-1.5) road favorite. Nebraska is 3-0 and more or less handled lesser competition. This will be a good benchmark game for both sides, even with Michigan already having been tested on the road vs. the Sooners in Week 2. If Poggi can navigate this team through an early Big Ten showdown in a tough environment, Moore can return in two weeks for a home game against Wisconsin with better vibes around the program.
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