LAS VEGAS - Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore joked Thursday that Ohio State's national title was not a "real win" because the Buckeyes didn't defeat the Wolverines along the way.
In the regular-season finale last season, Michigan stunned the heavily favored Buckeyes in Columbus 13-10 for its fourth straight victory in the rivalry.
As an eighth seed, Ohio State roared back in the inaugural 12-team expanded playoff, reeling off four consecutive wins to capture the program's first national championship in a decade.
Michigan won the national title in 2023, the final year of the four-team playoff.
"First, I'd like to congratulate them on the win," Moore said during Big Ten media days, noting he was "hoping" the Buckeyes would lose in the playoff. "But you know it's not no real win if y'all ain't beat us."
He added: "If the playoff expansion wasn't around, [Ohio State] wouldn't have won the national championship. So we pretty much look at it like, y'all had a nice little, easy run. But we helped y'all along the way. We pretty much helped y'all build back up. But after that [loss], they dominated everybody that came in front of them. So gotta give all the credit to them."
Moore had a pass deflection in the Wolverines' win at the Horseshoe, as Ohio State's high-powered offense failed to score after halftime. Afterward, a brawl between the two teams broke out when Michigan players gathered on the Block O logo at midfield and planted their flag. Police eventually used pepper spray to quash the scuffle, which lasted roughly five minutes and left players and coaches from both sides bloodied.
"I feel like I could have [done] a better job as a leader of not letting that get out [of control] like that," Moore said. "But at the same time ... I feel like that right there is pretty much why people come to Michigan or Ohio State. ... The rivalry, the atmosphere."
On Thursday, Moore also mocked Ohio state Rep. Josh Williams, who last December introduced a bill that would've classified flag planting at Ohio Stadium around Buckeyes football games as a felony.
"That was actually crazy," Moore said. "But all I gotta say is, that's Ohio for you."
The Buckeyes face Michigan on Nov. 29 in Ann Arbor.
