Sherrone Moore sends message to his defense with thoughts on Ohio State

There are certainly levels to this. While there is no love lost between Michigan and Ohio State, the players and coaches on both Big Ten behemoths have a lot of respect for each other. They have won the last two College Football Playoffs, and have been staples in the Big Ten's resurgence as a whole. Even though Michigan has had Ohio State's number, Sherrone Moore refuses to take this for granted.

When talking about the weapons galore Ryan Day's team has at its disposal, Moore offered the following to help reignite a fire inside of his stout Michigan defense. "It's potent. It's one of the best in the country. Obviously, the best team in the country ... They've got elite players everywhere on the field from a skill-position standpoint ... It's a challenge I know our defense is ready to go take on."

Moore speaking glowingly about the Ohio State offense may be what propels Michigan to greatness.

According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Michigan only has a 7.2-percent chance to make the College Football Playoff. This would require the Wolverines beating Ohio State once again, possibly helping them get to the Big Ten Championship at 10-2 (8-1). Michigan's two losses on the season so far were at Oklahoma and at USC. While the Sooners could make the playoff, USC has three losses...

If Michigan can somehow keep this low-scoring, the Wolverines have a great chance vs. Ohio State.

Sherrone Moore lets it be known his Michigan defense must play great

One of the last great unanswered questions of the college football season is how good is Ohio State really. The Buckeyes may be a lock to make the College Football Playoff at 11-0 (8-0), but they do not have the deepest of resumes. Their three best wins are over Texas, Washington and Illinois, all of whom have at least three losses on the season. Ohio State has played plenty of Purdues this year...

What stands out about Moore's heaping praise of the Ohio State offense, one that features the likes of Julian Sayin at quarterback, Max Klare at tight end, and Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate at wide receiver, if is the Michigan defense can keep the Buckeyes' offense in the 20s, they will have a shot. Ohio State has not scored more than 27 points in each of the Buckeyes' last four losses to Michigan...

Even though Ohio State has scored more than 30 points in nine of its 11 victories this season, it should be noted that it only scored 14 at home vs. Texas and 24 on the road at Washington. Those are the two best teams Ohio State has played all year long. They enter rivalry weekend with identical 8-3 records... Michigan looks to be a little more battle-tested than Ohio State seems to be coming in.

This is why Moore's indirect message to his Michigan defense is going to land well in the locker room.