Overheard outside Michigan’s locker room: The raising of the flag and the icing on the cake

Overheard outside Michigan’s locker room: The raising of the flag and the icing on the cake

COLUMBUS — Michigan’s football team finished the regular season 7-5, but that seventh win felt like the Super Bowl for players and coaches.

The Wolverines went to Columbus as massive underdogs and beat No. 2 Ohio State 13-10 on Saturday for their fourth straight win in the rivalry.

After the defense put the game on ice with a fourth-down stop, Michigan players carried a block “M” flag and placed it at midfield, resulting in a brawl.

Head coach Sherrone Moore and the players were asked about the brawl and other key moments in Saturday’s win. Here are the highlights:

Quarterback Davis Warren, who completed 9 of 16 passes for 62 yards and two interceptions, reflected on the melee after the game: “I think we’ve talked about this all week – being disciplined and letting our play on the field speak through the echo of the whistle.” I think we had that one unsportsmanlike equalizer that will happen in games like this. But I think as a unit, as a team, we did a great job. I can’t comment on what happened in the end, but we will win in your house and raise the flag. You should have done something about it.”

Senior edge Josaiah Stewart on holding OSU to 77 rushing yards on 26 attempts: “We’re just more physical. The film doesn’t lie. We attacked the whole game. We took the fight to them. We didn’t wait or let them get into the rhythm, which is the most important thing. If you stop a run, you can really keep a team one-dimensional.”

Moore on the importance of maintaining emotional composure in “The Game”: “We talk about playing with discipline and not emotions. It happens a few times, and it happens in these rivalry games, especially this one every year. There’s always some talk, there’s always a few extra things happening, and you have to control that. It’s all about the emotions in the game. You can talk about it. You can do that in practice, but it’s completely different when you go into the arena with your opponents. We have to do better, and that’s what they’re doing.”

Stewart on the meaning of the win: “Just the feeling we all had there was a real joy. The struggles we went through all year are like the icing on the cake, all the hard work wasn’t in vain.”

Moore on how much he trusts kicker Dominic Zvada, who made a 54-yarder in the first half and the game-winning 21-yarder in the final minute: “He is the man. He is an absolute beast. Just a great kicker, great guy. He was a great addition to the team. I hope I can keep him for another year. He could go to the NFL. But he’s really good. We simply have complete trust in him. It never scares him. In practice, we put him in the worst situations and he just practices it and just looks at you and says, ‘Yeah, that’s what I’m supposed to do.'”

Moore on Kalel Mullings’ 27-yard run on third-and-six at the OSU 44 to keep Michigan’s game-winning drive alive: “It’s like the USC run is starting all over again. There are people attacking him in the backfield. He’s hard to take down. He runs angry, he runs physically. I’m so proud of him. Career high, 32 carries, 116 yards. Just everything you could want.”

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