Michigan Football is stuck in neutral after up-and-down 2018 season

Now that the dust has settled on the season, was 2018 truly a failure for Michigan football or was is a step forward to bigger and better things?

The College Football Playoff has concluded and the season is now in the books. Following the national title game, the final polls were released and Michigan football ended up 14th in the AP poll, exactly where the Wolverines started the season.

That might not be a metaphor for the 2018 Michigan football season but it sure feels like one. Sure, there were some great moments along the way, such as the 10-game winning streak, the blowout wins over Wisconsin and Penn State and of course, the victory in East Lansing.

However, for every achievement, there was an equally disappointing failure. It started with the first week and the loss against Notre Dame in a game that was very winnable. It was a chance to beat a highly-ranked opponent, on the road, in a rivalry game and despite outplaying the Irish for much of it, Michigan football went home with a 24-17 defeat.

The response to that defeat was great. Michigan steamrolled through its first eight Big Ten games and climbed as high as No. 4 in the polls after notching a slew of impressive wins that also included a road victory over Northwestern.

But in the end, an embarrassing loss to Ohio State ended any hopes of playing for a championship. The Wolverines still haven’t won a Big Ten championship since 2004 and after losing in the Peach Bowl, UM missed out a chance to finish in the top five for the first time since 1999. Michigan also missed out an 11-win season and a chance for the first major bowl win since the Sugar Bowl in 2011.

And when you are trying to determine the legacy of the 2018 Michigan football team, the answer is in the paragraph above because it will always be remembered as a team of missed opportunity. It had the chance to do a lot of great things, but in the end, a win over Michigan State and the title of Co-Big Ten East champs is what the Wolverines came away with.

Michigan Wolverines

Looking back at the start of the season, I might have been happy with a 10-3 season and a win over the Spartans. It’s about what I predicted at the start of the season. I had a feeling Michigan football wasn’t good enough to beat Ohio State yet, at least not in Columbus.

So at the start of the season, I would have said beating Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin was a sign of progress and in some ways it was. There is no doubt that Michigan football climbed the pecking order in the Big Ten.

On the field and in recruiting, Michigan football has started to separate itself from the rest of the Big Ten. However, reaching that final plateau has proven to be incredibly difficult.

Michigan gained a lot of ground in 2018. It beat two teams that finished ranked in the final poll and wound up beating four teams with at least eight wins. The Wolverines and Harbaugh won their rivalry game with Michigan State, which is the one thing that keeps this season from being a total failure in my book.

A lot of good things happened in 2018 and it would be foolish to forget all of them because of two losses to end the season. But at the same time, after getting so close to the promise land, you can’t really call another 10-3 season successful either.

Essentially, Michigan football is stuck in no man’s land. It finished the season ranked in the same spot it started and on the whole, the program feels much the same. It’s stuck in neutral — not going forward or backward — just stuck.

And at this point, the only way to move things forward is to beat Ohio State.