Michigan Football and Jim Harbaugh have finally done it
By Jacob Cox
It took seven seasons, but Jim Harbaugh has finally got Michigan football back to the promised land, Big Ten Champions, and a College Football Playoff berth.
On December 2nd, 2014, Michigan football fired Brady Hoke as their head football coach after going 5-7. The Wolverines were on the hunt for a head coach who would take them back to winning Big Ten titles and competing for national championships.
Before the calendar turned to 2015, the University of Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh as their next head coach. After years of misery and anger from fans in Ann Arbor, there was finally a buzz of getting back on top.
In 2016, Harbaugh’s second season, the Wolverines were a spot away from going to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship that could’ve inevitably led to a College Football Playoff berth.
In 2018, once again, The Game was for a trip to Indianapolis, which could’ve led Michigan to the College Football Playoff as well. Michigan lost that game once again, keeping Harbaugh winless against the Buckeyes.
For six seasons, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh hadn’t achieved anything they were thought to. The expectations were very high from day one and were close a couple of times, but yet so far.
Michigan fans from coast to coast were upset. If you turned on ESPN or local sports talk radio, it was all about how much of a failure Harbaugh has been at Michigan. Some fans even went to great lengths to argue that Jim Harbaugh should be fired.
But now, Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines are in the College Football Playoff after two straight wins in which they scored 42 points.
Michigan football and Jim Harbaugh finally did it.
The Wolverines dominated the Buckeyes to get Harbaugh’s first victory over them as a coach 42-27, which changed the narrative on what the program has been over the last seven seasons. And then, on Saturday, in the Big Ten Championship game, Michigan handed Iowa their lunch money in a 42-3 throttling.
All the naysayers have stopped talking. Even Paul Finebaum, one of Harbaugh’s biggest critics, gave him props. Jim Harbaugh has accomplished what he was hired to do, win Big Ten Championships and compete for national titles.
Although it took too long to get here, I am glad the University of Michigan was patient with Jim Harbaugh because now, the Wolverines are two wins away from being national champions.
Michigan takes on Georiga in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl on December 31st. The kickoff will be at 7:30 pm.