Michigan Football: Can Jim Harbaugh win the big game?
Michigan football has been waiting for Jim Harbaugh to win that big game since taking over as head coach. Can he make it happen in 2018?
One win. That’s all Jim Harbaugh has against his two biggest rivals in three years combined. Michigan’s head coach, and savior-like figure, is just 1-5 against Michigan State and Ohio State in his first three seasons in Ann Arbor as well as just a single bowl victory.
Some could argue Harbaugh’s first season in Ann Arbor was his best. He led the Wolverines, and a Jake Rudock-engineered offense, past three ranked foes — Northwestern, BYU and Florida. The latter of the three ranked wins was a 41-7 Citrus Bowl win which caused everyone to dub Michigan’s program as “back”.
Two years later, Harbaugh has a single win over his top rivals, which happened to be a Michigan State team which finished 3-9 in 2016. That’s not discrediting the win, but showing just how disappointing a loss in that matchup would have been.
Michigan is 0-2 in bowl games since that first season under Harbaugh with just two wins over ranked teams.
Quite possibly the most disappointing loss in that span was against Ohio State in 2016. It was the infamous ‘JT Barrett was short’ game which ended with a 30-27 Wolverines loss in overtime.
An even more devastating loss than that? A 2015 home matchup against Michigan State which concluded with a botched punt turned game-winning touchdown with no time remaining. The Wolverines were 10 seconds away from beating their in-state rivals for the first time since 2012, but a miracle happened.
Then the Wolverines went 0-2 against the Spartans and Buckeyes in 2017 and people began realizing the poor record against rivals and in big games.
Harbaugh is 1-5 against rivals, 1-2 in bowl games and 5-7 against ranked foes. That’s not what Michigan expected to get from their multi-million dollar head coach.
Can he finally win the big game and silence the doubters?
The fourth-year head coach has his most talented Michigan team ever heading into 2018 which includes arguably the best defense in college football and a top quarterback transfer. If he can’t get the job done with this elite unit, he may as well turn up the heat on his own seat.
The schedule presents plenty of opportunities to win that “big game” but it’s also one which could wear the Wolverines down.
Harbaugh has a solid track record at Stanford and in the NFL, but unless he can beat Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State and Notre Dame — or any combo of three — in 2018, he will always have those doubters.
Next: 5 reasons Michigan will struggle in 2018
It’s time for the head coach to stop grabbing headlines and start grasping trophies.