Tag: Jim Harbaugh

Big Ten Championship: Michigan 42, Iowa 3

BIG TEN CHAMPS!!! A lot of people doubted this Michigan team – including yours truly – but they’re right where almost everyone wishes they could be. They beat the brakes off Ohio State and then the Big Ten West opponent, and now they’re headed to the playoffs. I thought they would be 8-4, so I certainly didn’t think they would be 12-1 and in this spot, but I also never lost faith in Jim Harbaugh’s ability to coach. That 2-4 season in 2020 made a lot of people forget that this guy turned around two other college programs, returned the 49ers to the Super Bowl, and made a 5-7 team into a 10-3 team immediately upon arriving in Michigan. He now averages 9.8 wins per season at Michigan if you give him a full year.

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Michigan 42, Ohio State 27

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Holy Mary, Mother of God. I don’t think I have been that anxious about a Michigan victory since the Wolverines beat Washington State following the 1997 season. I predicted an Ohio State win (shame on me), but I thought Michigan had a chance. What I did not expect is, well, an ass-whooping. When I say an ass-whooping, I don’t mean on the scoreboard or really physically (although there was some of that). I just mean it was like Michigan did whatever they wanted to do the whole game. Run the ball? Yes. Trick plays? Yes. Get after the QB? Yes. Stop the run? Yes. Prevent big plays? Yes. This wasn’t a fluke victory whatsoever. Michigan looked like the better team from start to finish.

Michigan 21, Penn State 17

That was a win. It wasn’t always pretty – especially on offense – but a win in Happy Valley is always nice. It’s not an easy place to play, and the Nittany Lions are usually pretty good, so you take an ugly win if you can get it. I decided to watch the game sans social media and just enjoy the back-and-forth, because I knew there would be a ton of griping. And nobody’s allowed to gripe but me. So I grumbled at times to myself, but for the most part, I thought Michigan played pretty well.

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Anatomy of a Running Back Substitution, Part 3

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For previous posts in this series, click here (part 1) or here (part 2).

Having addressed the similarities between Tyrone Wheatley and Jay Harbaugh on distributing carries and then the reasons for rotating running backs, here’s the final piece on how a coaching staff might handle the weekly rotation.

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Anatomy of a Running Back Substitution, Part 1

I’ve seen a lot of criticism over the years – but especially in 2020 – about Michigan’s running back rotation. There has been a lot of blame put on running backs coach Jay Harbaugh for using too many backs, not giving Hassan Haskins enough carries, not giving Zach Charbonnet enough carries, not giving Blake Corum enough carries, not giving Chris Evans enough carries, etc.

First, a brief history of the running back rotation under Jim Harbaugh for the top four running backs:

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