We all know the record vs. Ohio State. Nobody is happy with it. But anybody that expected Urban Meyer and his shady ways just to step aside was fooling themselves. They are, and have been, a top 5 program since before Harbaugh got here and they were not just going to collapse.
But enough about them, I only wanted to make the point that you just don’t beat (or become) a top 5 program overnight without “taking shortcuts”.
And we keep getting better, every year. Harbaugh isn’t perfect, but he’s a great coach because he recognizes issues and ultimately fixes them. It doesn’t always happen overnight, but it happens.
Harbaugh inherited a program that couldn’t make a bowl game consistently. Hoke was a good man, but a mediocre coach. He was a good recruiter, but couldn’t fix the roster he inherited from Richrod. We had two QBs on the roster...Shane Morris and Wilton Speight. Neither were anywhere near a championship caliber QB. WRs were unproven, RBs and OL were inconsistent. The defense underachieved and the culture was broken.
We weren’t in Ohio State’s league...we were behind MSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and probably Northwestern. We were losing to Minnesota and RUTGERS!
Harbaugh turned the program completely around in less than 12 months. We were an all-time fluky play away from an 11-2 season with a grad transfer QB and the same team that was 5-7 the previous year. That alone should be enough for fans to recognize the talent of Jim Harbaugh. He changed the culture, he revolutionized the support staff, he left no stone unturned, no tree unclimbed, no bunk bed unmade to bring the best talent he could bring to Ann Arbor. John Baxter, the special teams coach during that fluky play....gone.
The next year we ran off 9 straight and had a top 5 ranking behind WILTON SPEIGHT! The roster was still broken and we lost a hard fought battle late at Iowa when Speight was injured. The same place that Ohio State got smoked while marching towards the playoffs in 2017. The same place that Penn State escaped on a last second touchdown the same year. And then there was “the spot”, which everyone remembers. I remember there was a ton of other BS in that game....the “unsportsmanlike conduct” call on Harbaugh for tossing papers, Pass interference called on us and ignored on them. BS holding calls on us. I never believed in conspiracy theories before that game, but I do now. We were one spot, and one INT late vs Iowa from potentially our second undefeated/untied regular seasons of my life. He did it all with part-time injured WILTON SPEIGHT! We came out flat and lost our best player against FSU, which was young and talented with a very good coach. Yet, we were one tackle on a kickoff from coming back and beating them in Florida.
We sent nearly a couple dozen players to the league, including players that people had pretty much given up on before Harbaugh’s arrival. The roster was pretty much purged and we still didn’t have a championship QB. We lost Fisch and Wheatley, and kept Drevno, which was a mistake. We had a very disappointing season, but we were competitive every week except at PSU in a white out. PSU plays very well during Whiteout games. We were within striking distance against MSU in the typhoon despite 5 turnovers. If the refs make the correct call on DPJs “TD catch” against Wisconsin, we lead that game in the 3rd quarter 17-14...and 7 of Wisconsin’s points came on a punt return TD that started with a couple blocks in the back. We lost an improving Peters in that game, btw. So we go back to John O’Korn against Ohio State and he just couldn’t get it done despite a great game plan. We choked against South Carolina when we can’t convert in the red zone, including a Higdon fumble going into the endzone that should have given us a 3 TD lead in the 3rd quarter. Peters fell apart and the defense gave up several big plays. For the record, that’s my biggest criticism of Harbaugh...when things turn sideways he hasn’t been able to get them back in the right direction. But, to review, we go 8-5 with JOHN OKORN and a very timid Brandon Peters. We were competitive in 4 of the 5 games we lost with a brand new roster of starters and virtually no QB.
Lots of coaching changes in the offseason, losing Drevno but adding McIlwain, Warriner, Al Washington and Sherron Moore. Most publications predicted 4th place in the B1G East and a probable 4-5 loss season. We faced a brutal schedule, going on the road against our rivals and facing a couple potential contenders at home. We were outclassed on the road at ND, who goes undefeated and qualifies for the playoffs. We roll off 10 straight wins before imploding against Ohio State and Florida without 4 starters, who decided not to play.
At this point, we are 38-14 under Harbaugh. The losses include tough openers vs. Utah and ND with new QBs on the road. A fluke punt block TD, 2 bad losses to Ohio State, the spot, and the JOK loss at OSU, @ Iowa (night), @ PSU (night), 5 TO night against MSU, @ Wisconsin, vs. FSU in a Florida bowl game minus Peppers, vs. South Carolina imploding in the Outback Bowl, and vs. Florida imploding in the Peach Bowl minus 4 NFL candidates. All of these team ended in the top 10 except Utah, Iowa and South Carolina, IIRC.
While the implosion vs. South Carolina and the Whiteout game @ PSU were disappointing...that wasn’t a very good team anyway in 2017. The loss @ Iowa still hurts a ton, but in retrospect...that’s a very tough environment to win in with any QB. Most of our losses boiled down to turnovers or lacking personnel. Except one. Urban Meyer, similar to Lloyd Carr against Urban Meyer, absolutely pitched a perfect game in his last game that really counted. But I also believe that Jim has outcoached Urban in the 2016 and 2017 games despite the outcomes.
Maybe I’m too much of an optimist, but that’s just one of fourteen losses that I’d put on Harbaugh. But I also have criticism. I think he made a mistake in choosing Drevno over Fisch. I think a few key recruiting losses have retarded our progress (Isiah Wilson, Najee Harris, Otis Reese) and that the 2018 class was mediocre (though probably better than it’s rankings) which could cause roster issues later.
His other coaching changes have worked out very well. Jedd Fisch vs. Pep was a loss, as was Greg Jackson to Brian Smith. Drevno to Warriner was a big plus, Hastings to McIlwain was a big plus, Pep to Gattis looks like a huge plus. Brown is a big plus over Durkin. Herbert is a big plus over Tolbert. Washington to Campanile looks pretty equal and we’ll have to see who replaces Mattison, and there were some othe “even Steven” type moves, but I think all of the coaching moves have been net positive.
And despite the “stubborn” label on Harbaugh, he has evolved and this team gets better piece-by-piece. The coaching staff is stacked, the roster is stacked, the motivation is high and we’re going to take the next step...beating Ohio State and taking our place at the perch of the B1G East.
We’ve overtaken PSU (3-1), and MSU (2-2). We have our best QB room of the Harbaugh era, we have the best RB room if Charbonnet is as good as advertised, we have the best WR room in the country, we have a great blend of talents in the TE room, our offensive line is as deep and experienced as it has been this century. We have a new OC ready to run the show with innovative and creative new world football concepts. The special teams can be special and we have the horses to retool the defense.
2019 is OUR YEAR. We take the next step from a top 10ish program to a top 5ish. Urban is gone and we get them at home with a veteran QB and a retooled offense. We WILL beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and make the playoffs. I don’t know if we can beat Clemson or Alabama, but the evolution continues!
But enough about them, I only wanted to make the point that you just don’t beat (or become) a top 5 program overnight without “taking shortcuts”.
And we keep getting better, every year. Harbaugh isn’t perfect, but he’s a great coach because he recognizes issues and ultimately fixes them. It doesn’t always happen overnight, but it happens.
Harbaugh inherited a program that couldn’t make a bowl game consistently. Hoke was a good man, but a mediocre coach. He was a good recruiter, but couldn’t fix the roster he inherited from Richrod. We had two QBs on the roster...Shane Morris and Wilton Speight. Neither were anywhere near a championship caliber QB. WRs were unproven, RBs and OL were inconsistent. The defense underachieved and the culture was broken.
We weren’t in Ohio State’s league...we were behind MSU, PSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and probably Northwestern. We were losing to Minnesota and RUTGERS!
Harbaugh turned the program completely around in less than 12 months. We were an all-time fluky play away from an 11-2 season with a grad transfer QB and the same team that was 5-7 the previous year. That alone should be enough for fans to recognize the talent of Jim Harbaugh. He changed the culture, he revolutionized the support staff, he left no stone unturned, no tree unclimbed, no bunk bed unmade to bring the best talent he could bring to Ann Arbor. John Baxter, the special teams coach during that fluky play....gone.
The next year we ran off 9 straight and had a top 5 ranking behind WILTON SPEIGHT! The roster was still broken and we lost a hard fought battle late at Iowa when Speight was injured. The same place that Ohio State got smoked while marching towards the playoffs in 2017. The same place that Penn State escaped on a last second touchdown the same year. And then there was “the spot”, which everyone remembers. I remember there was a ton of other BS in that game....the “unsportsmanlike conduct” call on Harbaugh for tossing papers, Pass interference called on us and ignored on them. BS holding calls on us. I never believed in conspiracy theories before that game, but I do now. We were one spot, and one INT late vs Iowa from potentially our second undefeated/untied regular seasons of my life. He did it all with part-time injured WILTON SPEIGHT! We came out flat and lost our best player against FSU, which was young and talented with a very good coach. Yet, we were one tackle on a kickoff from coming back and beating them in Florida.
We sent nearly a couple dozen players to the league, including players that people had pretty much given up on before Harbaugh’s arrival. The roster was pretty much purged and we still didn’t have a championship QB. We lost Fisch and Wheatley, and kept Drevno, which was a mistake. We had a very disappointing season, but we were competitive every week except at PSU in a white out. PSU plays very well during Whiteout games. We were within striking distance against MSU in the typhoon despite 5 turnovers. If the refs make the correct call on DPJs “TD catch” against Wisconsin, we lead that game in the 3rd quarter 17-14...and 7 of Wisconsin’s points came on a punt return TD that started with a couple blocks in the back. We lost an improving Peters in that game, btw. So we go back to John O’Korn against Ohio State and he just couldn’t get it done despite a great game plan. We choked against South Carolina when we can’t convert in the red zone, including a Higdon fumble going into the endzone that should have given us a 3 TD lead in the 3rd quarter. Peters fell apart and the defense gave up several big plays. For the record, that’s my biggest criticism of Harbaugh...when things turn sideways he hasn’t been able to get them back in the right direction. But, to review, we go 8-5 with JOHN OKORN and a very timid Brandon Peters. We were competitive in 4 of the 5 games we lost with a brand new roster of starters and virtually no QB.
Lots of coaching changes in the offseason, losing Drevno but adding McIlwain, Warriner, Al Washington and Sherron Moore. Most publications predicted 4th place in the B1G East and a probable 4-5 loss season. We faced a brutal schedule, going on the road against our rivals and facing a couple potential contenders at home. We were outclassed on the road at ND, who goes undefeated and qualifies for the playoffs. We roll off 10 straight wins before imploding against Ohio State and Florida without 4 starters, who decided not to play.
At this point, we are 38-14 under Harbaugh. The losses include tough openers vs. Utah and ND with new QBs on the road. A fluke punt block TD, 2 bad losses to Ohio State, the spot, and the JOK loss at OSU, @ Iowa (night), @ PSU (night), 5 TO night against MSU, @ Wisconsin, vs. FSU in a Florida bowl game minus Peppers, vs. South Carolina imploding in the Outback Bowl, and vs. Florida imploding in the Peach Bowl minus 4 NFL candidates. All of these team ended in the top 10 except Utah, Iowa and South Carolina, IIRC.
While the implosion vs. South Carolina and the Whiteout game @ PSU were disappointing...that wasn’t a very good team anyway in 2017. The loss @ Iowa still hurts a ton, but in retrospect...that’s a very tough environment to win in with any QB. Most of our losses boiled down to turnovers or lacking personnel. Except one. Urban Meyer, similar to Lloyd Carr against Urban Meyer, absolutely pitched a perfect game in his last game that really counted. But I also believe that Jim has outcoached Urban in the 2016 and 2017 games despite the outcomes.
Maybe I’m too much of an optimist, but that’s just one of fourteen losses that I’d put on Harbaugh. But I also have criticism. I think he made a mistake in choosing Drevno over Fisch. I think a few key recruiting losses have retarded our progress (Isiah Wilson, Najee Harris, Otis Reese) and that the 2018 class was mediocre (though probably better than it’s rankings) which could cause roster issues later.
His other coaching changes have worked out very well. Jedd Fisch vs. Pep was a loss, as was Greg Jackson to Brian Smith. Drevno to Warriner was a big plus, Hastings to McIlwain was a big plus, Pep to Gattis looks like a huge plus. Brown is a big plus over Durkin. Herbert is a big plus over Tolbert. Washington to Campanile looks pretty equal and we’ll have to see who replaces Mattison, and there were some othe “even Steven” type moves, but I think all of the coaching moves have been net positive.
And despite the “stubborn” label on Harbaugh, he has evolved and this team gets better piece-by-piece. The coaching staff is stacked, the roster is stacked, the motivation is high and we’re going to take the next step...beating Ohio State and taking our place at the perch of the B1G East.
We’ve overtaken PSU (3-1), and MSU (2-2). We have our best QB room of the Harbaugh era, we have the best RB room if Charbonnet is as good as advertised, we have the best WR room in the country, we have a great blend of talents in the TE room, our offensive line is as deep and experienced as it has been this century. We have a new OC ready to run the show with innovative and creative new world football concepts. The special teams can be special and we have the horses to retool the defense.
2019 is OUR YEAR. We take the next step from a top 10ish program to a top 5ish. Urban is gone and we get them at home with a veteran QB and a retooled offense. We WILL beat Ohio State, win the Big Ten, and make the playoffs. I don’t know if we can beat Clemson or Alabama, but the evolution continues!
