Michigan Football: 5 things we learned from loss to Michigan State

Michigan has a Mel Tucker problem

Some have gone as far as calling me a Jim Harbaugh apologist. While I disagree with that statement, since I have criticized him plenty, there’s no doubt he’s got a Mel Tucker problem.

It’s the same problem he has with Ryan Day and Urban Meyer before. He’s got to be able to beat these rivals and he should have a winning record against Michigan State. Ohio State is another animal but this is the third time U-M had a better team and lost to Michigan State.

As bad as the 0-5 record is against the Buckeyes,  being 0-2 against Mel Tucker is worse, especially after winning three of five against Mark Dantonio and appearing to grab control of the state of Michigan again.

Now that’s gone and next year’s tilt in Ann Arbor becomes a must-win.

The way I see it, Harbaugh has the rest of this season, plus 2022 and 2023 to really turn things around. He will have the players to do it and if he fails with McCarthy and all these guys, then it might be time for a new head coach.

There are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic, as hard as that may seem and I’ll lay them out on the next slide. But, Harbaugh can’t let Tucker own him as Urban did. He needs to attack beating Tucker and the Spartans with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind because losing this game will get him fired quicker than losing “The Game” the way things are going.