Michigan Football has to catch up to Penn State too

A short time ago, Michigan football seemed much farther ahead than Penn State under James Franklin. Now, that’s not the case for Jim Harbaugh and crew.

When you think about Michigan football and the Big Ten East, it’s easy to get caught up with Ohio State and Michigan State. After all, not only have those two teams won the majority of the division titles since realignment, they are also UM’s chief rivals.

Losing to the Buckeyes and Spartans will never be acceptable for Michigan football and the fact is, until the program starts beating those schools, it won’t get anywhere in the Big Ten. However, after the success of Penn State the past two seasons, the Wolverines have another very real threat to deal with in the Big Ten East.

Looking back, it was easy to see the division was going to be loaded when Jim Harbaugh joined Michigan, one year after James Franklin took the head job in Happy Valley.

During the first two seasons, Franklin went 7-6. He also lost his first two meetings to Harbaugh. Michigan beat Penn State 28-16 in 2015, followed by a 49-10 drubbing early in the 2016 season. That October game was a high point for the Wolverines and a low point for the Nittany Lions.

It seemed obvious at that point, that Michigan football was far ahead of Penn State. At least that is what we thought at the time. But we all know what has happened since then.

The Lions have lost only three games since then. One of those games was the Rose Bowl to USC, then last season, Penn State dropped a heartbreaker against Ohio State on the road, followed by another tough loss to Michigan State.

But still, in the last two years, Franklin and Penn State have done a bunch of stuff Michigan hasn’t been able to do under Harbaugh. This list includes beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten East, winning the Big Ten, playing in the Rose Bowl and winning a New Year’s Six bowl game.

It’s a long list and last season, Penn State also dominated Michigan, beating the Wolverines 42-13 in a primetime. Certainly, one win and two seasons isn’t everything. But in terms of winning the Big Ten, recruiting and everything else, Penn State is no joke and as much as the Wolverines need to catch up to Michigan State and Ohio State, Penn State is just as far ahead.

However, looking at where Penn State was before Franklin arrived and where they are now, it makes you wonder why Harbaugh can’t do the same thing. Maybe Shea Patterson will be the difference. Saquon Barkley certainly helped in Happy Valley and as of yet, UM doesn’t have a guy like that.

It’s possible Rashan Gary will become that guy on defense or that Tarik Black or Donovan Peoples-Jones can be that guy on offense. The talent and the potential are there, Harbaugh just needs to produce results.

One key result for Michigan will be defeating Penn State this fall in Ann Arbor. Michigan needs to start beating the Spartans and Buckeyes sure, but it also has to start catching up to the Lions too.  Otherwise, they will be habitually stuck in fourth place, with nowhere to go but up.