Michigan Football: 3 reasons Wolverines must beat Michigan State

Harbaugh, UM needs a win over a rival

To put it simply, if you are a fan of Michigan football, then you are probably a fan of Jim Harbaugh. Well, at this point in his career, Harbaugh needs to prove he can beat a rival and more than that, he needs to show he can beat Mark Dantonio.

Certainly, conquering Urban Meyer and Ohio State is on the to-do list. Yet, before that happens, the Wolverines need to re-establish themselves as the pre-eminent program in the state and in order for that to happen, Michigan football needs to consistently beat Michigan State.

So far, in three tries, Harbaugh is 1-2. There was the heartbreaking loss in 2015 (we don’t need to say any more on the matter) and the ugly, John O’Korn-led loss in 2017. Both times, Michigan clearly had the better team and just couldn’t finish the job.

Saturday, for the fourth straight season, Michigan will come into the rivalry game with the better team and this time, it has a quarterback in Shea Patterson. There are no more excuses, Harbaugh and the Wolverines have to win this game, they just have to. Otherwise, it’s going to get ugly and the fire Harbaugh contingent will be back in full force.