They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, that appears to be the case for sports teams who are missing their head coach, too.
With the surprise decision coming down on Saturday morning that a court motion was denied to let Jim Harbaugh coach against Penn State, Michigan's acting head coach Sherrone Moore was thrown into the spotlight to help lead the Wolverines into a top 10 showdown on the road.
Another major speedbump cleared by the Wolverines and another narrative was busted as the program beat Penn State 24-15 on Saturday.
While it was clear that Moore and the Wolverines missed Harbaugh's presence, it's another bit of proof that this program does not flinch in the face of adversity.
"Play for yourselves, play for the team and play for Michigan," Moore told reporters after the game. "That's the constant message. Just play for everybody you've always played for, think about this game as you in the backyard with your boys or with your friends and just win. This was a tournament game for us, a playoff game for us, so we knew we had to do whatever we needed to do to win. It's been a crazy 24 hours but, at the same time, our team was built for this. Our staff was built for this. We're all built for it."
Moore let the emotions come out after the game, as a crying Moore praised Harbaugh in an expletive show of love.
He is not going to apologize for showing emotions, even on live television, as what he said after the game was all out of love not just for Harbaugh but for the program, too.
"I'm a pretty calm guy but there's a lot of emotions," Moore said. "Being here six years, feeling like this place is home, what Coach Harbaugh has done for me, he's given me the opportunity to be here. This whole university, these players, these fans, this place is like home to me. Home to my family. It's very deep. I wear my heart on my sleeve, working extremely hard as we all do. It meant a lot for us to get this win in this situation. Make it about the players, we have elite players. Elite university."
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