Sherrone Moore certainly understands there’s no stage bigger than Michigan vs. Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal. He compared the recent success of the Crimson Tide to his Wolverines when asked about the novelty of playing against the SEC in a Playoff setting given the conference’s success.

“We haven’t won it. They [Alabama] have, we haven’t,” said Moore. “We have to prepare our tails off to get to that point to what they’ve done. That’s our goal, that’s our mindset. Our goal is to go win, and we’re going to do everything we can to go do it.”

Alabama has won the CFP National Championship on three occasions (2015, 2017, and 2021), while Michigan has only appeared in the Playoff twice. Nick Saban and Co. have also qualified for the CFP in 8 of the 10 years involving a 4-team field.

Despite all of that, Moore knows that the motivation for Michigan has to come from within the team, not from outside noise:

“We just need to go win, we’re not worried about proving anyone (or) anybody’s opinions,” Moore said.

Moore has been on staff in Ann Arbor since 2018. He filled a variety of roles, including working with tight ends, offensive linemen, and as co-OC before filling the sole OC role for the 2023 season. He served as the acting head coach for 4 games this season, including during Jim Harbaugh’s 3-game suspension to finish the regular season.

No. 1 Michigan and No. 4 Alabama will square off on New Year’s Day at 5:00 pm EST on ESPN.