Biff Poggi on Michigan football responding to missing Sherrone Moore
Acting Michigan coach Biff Poggi spoke about the team feeling the absence of suspended coach Sherrone Moore and how they were playing for him, Sept. 13, 2025.
- Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore will miss the game against Nebraska due to a school-imposed suspension.
- The two-game suspension is related to the NCAA’s investigation into the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal.
- Associate head coach Biff Poggi will serve as the interim head coach in Moore’s absence.
- Moore is expected to return to the sideline for Michigan’s Week 6 game against Wisconsin.
Michigan football will open up the Big Ten portion of its 2025 season with a game Saturday, Sept. 20 at Nebraska.
A matchup between two of college football’s most storied and iconic programs, though, will be taking place without at least one key figure.
When Bryce Underwood and the No. 20 Wolverines take the field at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, they’ll do so without head coach Sherrone Moore.
The second-year Michigan coach will not be on the sideline Saturday as he serves the second game of a self-imposed, two-game suspension the university handed down in the midst of the NCAA’s investigation into the Connor Stalions sign-stealing scandal.
With Moore away, Michigan will be led yet again by associate head coach Biff Poggi, who is serving as the interim head coach in Moore’s absence. Under Poggi, who was Charlotte’s head coach from 2023-24, the Wolverines rolled to a 63-3 victory over Central Michigan in Week 3 during the first game of Moore’s suspension.
As the Wolverines get set to face off against Nebraska, here’s what to know on Moore’s suspension:
Where is Sherrone Moore?
Moore will not be coaching Michigan Saturday against Nebraska as he’s serving the second and final game a two-game suspension that was imposed by Michigan leadership in the months before the NCAA’s final ruling in Stalions sign-stealing saga.
It’s not the first time Moore has been barred from the sideline in his time with the Wolverines. Moore was suspended by the university for Week 1 of the 2023 season, back when he was coach Jim Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator, due to his role in Michigan’s NCAA recruiting violations that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following a bye week next week, Moore will be back with the Wolverines for their Week 6 game against Wisconsin.
Why is Sherrone Moore suspended for Week 4?
Moore’s two-game suspension stems from his involvement in the in-person scouting operation that launched an NCAA investigation and ended with Michigan receiving sanctions from college sports’ governing body.
In the NCAA’s public infractions decision, which was released on Aug. 15, it was revealed that Moore deleted 52 text messages with Stalions when news of the NCAA’s investigation first broke. Moore had not proactively disclosed that he had deleted the text messages and initially said he had scrubbed the texts to preserve storage space on his phone. When Moore admitted to deleting the messages, he said his decision was “an emotional reaction to the allegations.”
In addition to Michigan’s self-imposed suspension, the NCAA, as part of its infractions decision, suspended Moore for an additional game, which he will serve against Western Michigan in Week 1 of the 2026 season. Moore also received a two-year show cause order.
“I am glad that this part of the process has been completed,” Moore said in a statement after the NCAA’s report was released. “I greatly respect the rules governing collegiate athletics and it is my intent to have our program comply with those rules at all times. I will continue to focus my attention on our team and the upcoming 2025 season.”