One of the most thrilling games of the college football season took place this weekend in The Big House. A back-and-forth battle between Michigan and USC that the Wolverines were able to secure during the final minute of the game in a 27-24 victory.

Many counted the defending national champions out this season following the departure of head coach Jim Harbaugh, other members of the coaching staff, and key impact players from last season’s roster. Especially following Michigan’s lopsided 31-12 loss to Texas at home in Week 2.

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But on Monday, following Michigan’s first Big Ten win of the season, college football analyst Paul Finebaum spoke about the significance of the win for Michigan and their new head coach Sherrone Moore.

“I think that was a defining moment for Sherrone Moore,” Finebaum said on ESPN. “They looked so bad against Texas, quite frankly everyone has so far, but this was a big-time win.”

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The defending national champions were home underdogs on Saturday. Facing an undefeated USC team ranked No. 11 in the country that entered the matchup with an impressive win over LSU under their belts. Meanwhile, Michigan had struggles on each side of the ball early in the year and made a change at quarterback heading into the showdown.

“Southern Cal is a good team, they’re not elite yet, but they showed against LSU that they’re pretty good. And that drive at the end of the game was elite, it was fantastic,” Finebaum said.

The Wolverines leaned into their identity as a ground-and-pound football team that would run the football effectively and play physical, complimentary defense. Reminiscent of Michigan’s season-defining win over Penn State last year. A game where Moore served as the interim head coach in place of a suspended Harbaugh and the Wolverines ran the ball 32 straight times to win 24-15 on their way to a national championship.

On Saturday, Michigan ran the ball 46 times for 290 yards on the ground with just 32 passing yards on the day. Taking an early lead then coming from behind on a 10-play, 89-yard, game-winning touchdown drive that featured only running plays will surely be remembered for a long time in Ann Arbor.

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