Michigan Football: Jim Harbaugh admits mistake against Ohio State
Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh admits at least one play call against Ohio State he would like to have back.
Certainly, every coach makes mistakes. Jim Harbaugh, the head man for Michigan football said Tuesday, the decision to allow Wilton Speight to throw from his own end zone against Ohio State last season was one of them.
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If you need a memory refresher, Speight, threw a critical interception against Ohio State that was returned by Malik Hooker for a 16-yard touchdown. Michigan football led 3-0 at the time. The Wolverines eventually lost 30-27 in overtime.
Michigan was lined up near its own goal line when a play-action pass was called. Yet, Speight’s arm was hit as he threw it, deflecting the ball and making for an easy interception.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Harbaugh is still “kicking himself” for the making the call. He also had this to say: “I mean, I think about them all the time and try not to repeat those mistakes. I try not to be an error repeater.”
While it’s easy to criticize play calling after it happens, calling plays is a tough thing to do. In the past, I have taken issue with Harbaugh’s clock management, which hopefully got some work this offseason, but all in all, he manages the game pretty well.
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Looking back, the way his defense was playing, maybe the call was an unnecessary risk. But, if the execution had been better, maybe he wouldn’t feel that way.
That pick six obviously made a huge impact in the game, but the choice I always go back to, was the decision not to go for two.
After Michigan football scored in overtime, I thought the Wolverines should have gone for the win. With three big receivers and a quarterback that just made the biggest throw of his career on the touchdown pass the play before, the timing would have been perfect.
Or it would have lost the game and been the worst call of all time. That’s how these things work. You can be a genius or an idiot for making the same exact call.
One bad decision doesn’t make Harbaugh a bad coach. He is still one of the best in the country and a few questionable calls won’t change that.
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The most important thing, is that he evaluates those decisions. It seems easy, but not everyone does it. Harbaugh isn’t perfect and he never will be. But by analyzing his mistakes, in the future, he hopefully won’t be doomed to repeat them.