Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan is ‘what opponents feared’: Can he cement himself as all-time great and put Wolverines on top of CFB world?
51-year-old Jim Harbaugh marched onto the stage at the Junge Center for his introductory press conference Dec. 30, 2014, and vowed to “carry forward the tradition of excellence of the Michigan football program.” Nobody in attendance or watching on television expected anything different from the son of former U-M assistant Jack Harbaugh, a 1980s Wolverine quarterback and a coach with a proven track record in both college and the pros.
While Harbaugh’s teams knocked on the door a few times in his first six seasons, it was a bumpier ride than expected. But coming off two-straight wins over Ohio State, Big Ten titles and CFP appearances, with the most wins in a two-year span in program history (25), Harbaugh certainly has the Wolverines in the “excellent” category.
“It’s what the media expected, it’s what Michigan fans envisioned and it’s what Michigan’s opponents feared,” said New York Times bestselling author John U. Bacon, who’s written four books on U-M football.
From an individual standpoint, Michigan hasn’t had seasons like the last two since 1997. To find multiple consecutive campaigns close to that successful, it would have to be a stretch in the 1970s. Bacon, though, points to 1947-48 — when the Wolverines went a combined 19-0 and won back-to-back national championships — as the best comparison.
“You might even make a case that, in some ways, it’s better, because in those days, you had no Big Ten title game — which you can always lose — and you wouldn’t be playing a playoff game, either. You’d be beating somebody in the Rose Bowl,” Bacon pointed out. “Think about it, who from the Pac-12 could’ve beaten Michigan this year, or last year? In the last two years, you’d have one loss to Michigan State [in 2021], and that’s it
“And the parity in college football is much greater, also. Not only numerically does it hold up — I think if you peel that back, it might even be better in some ways, which is saying a lot after 2-4.”
Added Bacon, noting how the South has dominated the sport on the biggest stages over the last 25 years, “A national title has never been harder to win now in the history of college football.”
It all comes on the heels of a 2020 season that saw the Wolverines post a 2-4 record. The turnaround is similar to when head coach Bo Schembechler’s 1984 team went 6-6, before going 10-1-1 and finishing No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, the legendary coach’s best-ever finish.
“And yet, this is still the measure — 2-4 to 12-2,” Bacon opined.
“This turnaround, you could make a very easy case, is the most dramatic turnaround in the history of Michigan football.
“Any Michigan fans who aren’t happy now won’t ever be happy.”
While it has already experienced “historic highs,” Michigan enters 2023 looking to continue the upward trend, too, one of the top contenders for a national championship.
“This team, on paper, is better than [the 2021 and 2022] teams,” Bacon said.
Can Michigan reach the summit?
Harbaugh and Michigan players have spoken about their ultimate goal to win a national championship in the past, but they’ve been as vocal as ever this offseason. “Houston or bust” is displayed on television screens in the Schembechler Hall cafeteria, and players are no longer satisfied with just beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten (though those remain two featured goals).
It appears Michigan has the team to do it, and on paper, this appears to be Harbaugh’s most talented team, his best shot at winning a national championship to date. He’s likely to serve a four-game suspension to begin the season, but given the opponents — East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers — it shouldn’t derail the Wolverines.
Harbaugh says he’s had to hold guys back rather than talk them into doing more over the last two seasons, his preferred method, and in turn players who could’ve gone to the NFL or the transfer portal have found reasons to stay instead of leave. College football has changed dramatically with the rise of NIL and the portal, but Michigan feels like a throwback.
“Yeah, they’re getting NIL money, but they’re not getting NFL money — and those guys could get it, there’s no question about that,” Bacon said of Michigan’s top standouts who chose to remain at U-M. “The fact that they came back speaks to how good the coaching staff is and how good that locker room is right now. It’s not just the money. And those are honestly the things that I love most about college football, the intangibles that make the players love it the way the fans do. And right now, Michigan’s got that going.
“In the ‘70s, you had no choice. You couldn’t go anywhere, but there was that kind of spirit. And now, Michigan’s kind of got this little bubble of happiness, where they seem committed to each other and the program in ways they don’t have to be.”
Led by senior running back Blake Corum, junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy, graduate left guard Trevor Keegan, senior right guard Zak Zinter, senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, graduate defensive back Mike Sainristil, graduate linebacker Michael Barrett and others, Michigan is set to take its shot at taking the step from 13-1 to 15-0, still a steep climb considering what kind of programs are out there, particularly in the South.
Ohio State is the only Big Ten team to win a national title this century (2002 and 2014), and a team from the South has won the championship all but three years since U-M took it home in 1997.
If Michigan were to get it done this season, it wouldn’t just be historic for the program, which has been waiting nearly three decades to stand on top of the college football mountain, it would be a “strike for Big Ten and northern football,” Bacon said.
“The question is becoming like college softball or baseball, can northern teams even compete?” Bacon stated. “And that’s never been a question in college football, but it’s gotta be in the last 20 years. You look at those, who’s won it, and no one’s near the Mason-Dixon line. They’re all southern teams, basically.
“It would not only be a blow for Michigan and the Big Ten, it would be a blow for northern football, and really it would be good for football itself to show that it’s not so unequal that it no longer makes sense. That’s where baseball is, and basically where softball is too.”
Jim Harbaugh knocking on a new door
It would be a strike for Harbaugh, too. Having been heavily criticized after coming to Michigan with massive expectations, he’s been through the wringer. Fans wanted him out after the 2020 campaign, but with his back against the wall, he delivered two straight Big Ten titles.
He’s been as close as it comes to making the Super Bowl as a player, to winning it as a coach. He finished No. 2 in the national polls as Michigan’s quarterback in 1985. Now, the goal is to get over the hump, to reach the summit.
With 74 wins as Michigan’s coach, Harbaugh ranks fourth among the 20 U-M head coaches in history, trailing Schembechler (194), Fielding Yost (165) and Lloyd Carr (122). His .747 winning percentage also checks in fourth among those with more than 90 games coached. The Maize and Blue won just 46 games in the seven seasons prior to Harbaugh’s arrival.
“He’s not at the Bo or Yost level, but if he keeps going the way he’s going, why wouldn’t he be?” Bacon wondered aloud. “I can see him passing some others very quickly.
“[The national championship] may elude him — I don’t know. Although I think this last year they would’ve had a real shot, and this coming year, if they get there — it’s [summertime], who the hell knows — I would think they have as good a shot as anybody this time around, if they can get to the final four.
“I’d say that he’s better than [fifth best in Michigan history] based on the competition, based on that you have to play a Big Ten title game, you have to play a playoff game. Those tend to be coin-toss games, almost. I’d say he’s probably third or fourth on my list — not quite Bo, not quite Yost, but he’s knocking on the door.”
He’s knocking on a new door, after breakthroughs the last two seasons. Can he break it down and put Michigan back on top of the college football world?
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