Michigan Football: Does Jim Harbaugh really “own” college football?

A USA Today article recently stated that Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh “owns” college football. Is this too farfetched?

Any talk about Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh seems to stir the pot — and he likes it that way.

On Friday afternoon, USA Today’s Nancy Armour tried to make the argument that Harbaugh “owns” college football and that anyone who argues that notion will be proven wrong.

Florida State assistant coach Tim Brewster attempted to troll Harbaugh following a post about Michigan’s 11 players selected in the 2017 NFL Draft being the most of any program this year. He tweeted that just because a program has the most draft picks in a given year doesn’t mean they’re winners.

Harbaugh responded in only a way he truly can, stating that Michigan loves to see its players get drafted and Wolverines love being picked. Just another Harbaugh spat on Twitter. Nothing to see here.

These tweets led to Armour’s article about Harbaugh “owning the college football game.” Does she have a point or is it basically nonsensical to even allude to that?

She did make a fair point about Harbaugh taking over a program in decline and putting together two consecutive 10-3 seasons. He put Michigan back on the map, but Armour fails to realize that he’s doing so not long after Brady Hoke led the Wolverines to the Sugar Bowl. Michigan wasn’t exactly “in shambles.”

With the history and profit of a program like Michigan, it’s safe to say that winning there shouldn’t be that difficult. Hoke and Rich Rodriguez struggled because they weren’t good fits. They both recruited well, but the coaching side of things didn’t work out.

Harbaugh is a top-tier college football coach so you’re seeing what top talent can do when molded the correct way. It’s not exactly a “miracle” that Michigan is back on the map with elite talent on the roster and a good coach finally squeezing potential from it.

So, back to the original point. Does Jim Harbaugh own college football? Easy answer: no.

As far as trolling goes, he’s No. 1. Michigan’s name is out there all the time and he’s turning the program back into a powerhouse because he’s always in the news and that’s something no one in the country may be better at. However, on-field production is a work in progress.

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While Michigan has two straight 10-win seasons, the Wolverines haven’t finished higher than third place in the Big Ten East, have a combine one win in four tries against rivals Ohio State and Michigan State and don’t have a New Year’s Six Bowl victory under Harbaugh. Granted, it’s been two years, but you need longer than that to “own” college football.

Just ask Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.