Michigan Football: In midst of mediocrity, not on cusp of playoffs

Not so long ago coach Harbaugh mentioned that his Michigan football program is on the cusp of the playoffs, but in reality, it cannot get over the proverbial hump.

For some reason Jim Harbaugh believes Michigan football is on the verge of greatness. Yet in 5 years he hasn’t sniffed a Big Ten title, let alone win the most important game on the schedule.

He’s added to his building reputation of being an oddball that rubs people the wrong way. His comments on Tim Kawakami’s podcast has to have folks everywhere scratching their heads about whether he believes in the words that emanate from his own mouth.

Any rational, coherent Michigan fan with their head screwed on straight knows that just by watching the last five seasons what to honestly believe in this instance. Three ten win campaigns out of five are middle of the pack at best and the rankings reflect that point. A reasonable argument can be made had Michigan won the Big Ten in 2016 or possibly even in 2018, but of course they failed in the grandest one-sided rivalry of the 21st century.

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His record is competent for most schools but doesn’t compare to those of the Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson’s of the world. Perhaps that is because Michigan is unfairly put in the same conversations as those elite organizations and shouldn’t be. They realistically haven’t been in that same national relevance since the early 2000s. It also proves that these universities have been lucky enough to hire the correct once in a lifetime coaches to roam their sidelines for each of their respective eras.

The doubters will only keep getting louder in 2020 with the trend growing. Michigan’s got an opportunity right off the bat to travel to Seattle and takedown a quality opponent. The Wolverines haven’t won a significant game on the road versus a Pac 12 opposition since September 23, 1989 in the Rose Bowl against UCLA. That is an alarming stat that has now surpassed three frustrating decades. They’ve also failed to secure a top-notch Big Ten road test victory in roughly two decades. Those staggering numbers must change in order for Harbaugh to overcome all the obstacles and capture a spot in the almighty CFP.

There’s no debate Harbaugh will go down in history as one of the most polarizing figures in football when the dust finally settles.

What he accomplishes in the amount of time he has remaining while at Michigan will define his overall compiled body of work and lasting legacy at his alma mater. Beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten and a national championship is something that he needs to get done no matter how much time he has left in Ann Arbor.

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