Michigan Football: 3 Reasons Wolverines will beat Michigan State

In crunch time, Jim Harbaugh is a better coach

Sure, Mel Tucker is 2-0 against Michigan and Jim Harbaugh, but you can point to an incompetent Wolverine defense in 2020 and a generational talent at running back (Kenneth Walker III) in 2021 that led to those wins.

When you look at the body of work in close games and crunch time situations, Jim Harbaugh almost always makes the right decision as far as clock management, play-call, and personnel on the field. Mel Tucker on the other hand? Questionable to say the least.

We mentioned at the outset as well that this is a weird game. It’s a weird rivalry and there’s bad blood on both sides of the ball. Michigan State may very well come out and execute the best performance on both sides of the ball that they have all year — and even then it might not be enough.

Even if they do that, and even if the battle for the Paul Bunyan trophy comes down to the wire look yourself in the mirror and ask this question: who do you trust to make the right decision in crunch time?

I’m betting the farm on Jim Harbaugh, and Michigan State fans likely would too.