Sherrone Moore Reacts To Bryce Underwood’s Harsh Self-Grade On ‘Big Jim’s House’

Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood won his college debut by 17 points, throwing for 252 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers in the process. But by his own standard, it wasn't nearly good enough.

Underwood gave himself a C+ grade for his game against the New Mexico Lobos. If that's an accurate assessment, it's a great sign for those looking to see his A game. Head coach Sherrone Moore isn't going to be so harsh -- but he still loves to see that out of his starting QB.

Moore talked about the Wolverines' season-opening win and his postgame approach in a new interview with Jim O'Brien on 94.7 WCSX. Despite a three-possession final score, Michigan entered the game as a 34.5-point favorite. Some level of disappointment may be expected for that result, and that extends to Underwood's own self-evaluation. Moore chalked it up to a quarterback that holds himself to a high standard -- and he prefers it that way.

"It didn't surprise me that he did that (gave himself a C+) because he is very he's a very humble kid," Moore said of Underwood. "He works very hard, and he's not going to put himself in a light to say that he did excellent, because I think he's always chasing perfection, like we all are. So, it did not surprise me whatsoever.

"I wouldn't give him a C+, but that's how he is, and that's the kid he is, and you like it that way."

Despite the win, Michigan will likely need to play a lot better in order to improve to 2-0, because they're heading on the road against No. 18 Oklahoma. Considering the prevalence of fan and media scrutiny on social media, it's likely that the Wolverines have endured more than enough negativity after a relatively underwhelming performance.

Moore doesn't want to pile on. Instead, the head coach focuses mainly on the positives. There's a time and a place for working on areas of improvement, and for Moore, it's not immediately after a 17-point victory on opening night.

"The first thing we do in the locker room is celebrating," Moore said, as he took listeners inside the Wolverines' postgame locker room. "I celebrate the victories, and we talk about the win, what we did really well. I know the coaches will cover all the things that they need to work on, and as will we when we get to that, but you got 24 hours to celebrate a win, and in college football, sometimes it can be hard to come by.

"I feel like it'd be a slander for me to go in the locker room and start to berate them about all the things that they did wrong when they just won the game. That's what you asked them to do. We go in there, we celebrate."

Moore also described a typical postgame atmosphere as a team prayer and even a rendition of the iconic fight song "The Victors." It paints a picture of a head coach that is in tune with the negative energy his players can face in the wild west of the internet. He would rather avoid that same energy within the walls of the Big House.

The Wolverines are looking to carry their positive vibes into Week 2 at Oklahoma, where kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST. You can get the call of the game on 94.7 WCSX, starting with pregame coverage at 4:30. In the meantime, you can hear the full interview with Moore and Jim O'Brien as part of the Go Blue Detroit podcast.