5 things we learned from Michigan football’s third straight Big Ten title

Michigan football finished off a third straight Big Ten championship on Saturday night and here are five things we learned from another Wolverines win. 

It wasn’t the most dazzling win Michigan football has had over the past three years, but the Wolverines don’t have to apologize for winning ugly, especially after clinching a third straight Big Ten championship.

The offense could have played better. There were some drops and some missed opportunities. Iowa also did what Iowa does. It played great defense and made things ugly.

Michigan football understood the assignment. Turnovers, special teams, and mistakes are the things that allow Iowa to thrive. Yet, the Wolverines didn’t allow Iowa any of those opportunities.

J.J. McCarthy didn’t throw a touchdown pass. He also didn’t throw an interception and made some key conversions on third and fourth down.

The Wolverines survived all the adversity, stuck together, and kept their dreams of winning a national championship alive with another 13-0 season.

We’ll have plenty of time to talk about the playoff, but here are five things we learned from the Big Ten championship game.

What Jim Harbaugh has done is incredible

Harbaugh missed six games this season, but make no mistake, he built this Michigan football program. Jim certainly had a lot of help along the way, but this program has taken the identity of its head coach, which was a key part of surviving his three-game absence.

With the win, Harbaugh became the first Big Ten head coach to ever win three straight outright conference titles in the league. That’s an incredible achievement. Doing something that Bo and Woody or Urban will hopefully reinforce to the powers that be that Harbaugh needs a lifetime contract. I also think he should be the highest-paid coach in all of college football.

This is a golden era of Michigan football and keeping Harbaugh is the key to keeping it going well into the future.