LINCOLN, Neb. -- Biff Poggi's two-week reign as coach of the Michigan Wolverines ends Sunday. Before he walked off the field at Memorial Stadium, after overseeing a 30-27 win at Nebraska on Saturday, the associate head coach already knew how he'd enjoy the final hours of his interim tenure.
"I'm going to eat some Häagen-Dazs coffee ice cream with my wife and smoke a Cuban cigar, and then probably go to the hospital," Poggi said with a grin.
Poggi and his squad have plenty to celebrate after a road triumph to open Big Ten play that they believe made a major statement.
The No. 21 Wolverines rushed for 286 yards on nearly 9 yards per carry, sacked Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola seven times and held the Cornhuskers' offense to just 98 yards in the second half to move to 3-1 with back-to-back wins under Poggi.
But make no mistake, the Wolverines won this one for Sherrone Moore. The second-year head coach is coming to the end of a two-week suspension, a university-imposed sanction stemming from the NCAA's investigation into its advanced scouting case.
Moore was barred from all team-related activities and practices in addition to missing wins over Central Michigan and Nebraska. Linebacker Ernest Hausmann said he and his teammates "feel the pain" of their leader's absence and are eager to welcome him back Sunday.
"It's going to be wonderful to get to see Coach Moore back in the building," running back Justice Haynes said. "We love that dude, and that dude loves us. We just can't wait. We talked about it in the two weeks he was gone: Let's get this done for our coach. We love Coach Moore. We'll ride with him however long we need to ride with him, man. That's our dude."
Michigan has bounced back after a 24-13 road loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 7. The Wolverines are overpowering opponents with a devastating rushing attack that set the tone Saturday thanks to their offensive line paving wide lanes for explosive touchdown runs to overwhelm a top-10 ranked scoring defense.
Haynes rushed for 149 yards, his fourth consecutive 100-yard performance, and burned the Huskers by breaking away untouched for a 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Jordan Marshall took one to the house from 54 yards out to help the Wolverines pull away in the third quarter. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood ran for 61 yards, including an easy 37-yard score on a draw play.
The Huskers countered miraculously on the final snap of the first half, with Raiola tossing a 52-yard Hail Mary as time expired and connecting with a leaping Jacory Barney Jr. to tie it up 17-17 entering halftime. Poggi and his players were unfazed.
"We felt like we dominated the first half," Haynes said. "We felt like they got lucky on one play. One play ain't going to define us."
Poggi repeated that message to his players on their way out of the locker room.
"I called them up before we went out on the field and I said, 'I know it's 17-17, but physically we're beating the snot out of them,'" he said. "We're turning this into a heavyweight fight and that's going to be to our big advantage in the second half, and I think it was."
The Wolverines' defense forced three-and-outs on three of the Huskers' next four possessions. Marshall put them ahead by 10 points with the longest run of his college career. And when it came time to seal this win, Michigan's offense marched 77 yards over 16 plays in a nearly nine-minute drive that required a trio of third-down conversions and pushed the lead to 10 yet again with 3:54 remaining.
"Our mindset going into that drive was just put the dagger in it," Haynes said.
Underwood threw for 105 yards on 12-of-22 passing in his first career Big Ten start. What most didn't see, Poggi said, was the poise the true freshman brought to the huddle and the sideline from start to finish.
"I'm not exaggerating, there was not a doubt in anyone's mind on our sideline at any point that we weren't winning that game," Poggi said, "and he was a big part of that."
Just as significant to their temporary head coach was that the Wolverines won a four-quarter fight after losing four of their past five road games dating back to last season. If there were any lingering narratives, Poggi said, that this team can't finish tough games on the road, he believes they've now been dispelled.
The events of the past two weeks, starting with the loss at Oklahoma, tested this team. But Poggi and his players believe they offered plenty of proof Saturday that they're stronger now for going through it together.
"I feel so happy for Sherrone Moore because the building really rallied around him these last two weeks," Poggi said. "I'll die a happy man somewhere."