Michigan Football, the 2020 Abbreviated COVID Season

[Niffla]

If I was Harbaugh I'd honestly be considering throwing in the towel and stepping down. Throw in the towel like a boxer who's so far down on the score cards and knows that he gave it his best shot, but knows that it's over.

Look I'm not even on the fire Harbaugh bandwagon -- presonally, aside from the annual bludgeoning from Ohio State, I think he has done a pretty good job. And yes I know that means everything to much of the fan base (the Ohio State game), but what's his overall record since coming to AA? Something like 48-17? No conference titles which sucks, but really since Jim has come to AA he and the program has been as good as any (overall) in the conference aside from 1 incredible program. They're consistently ranked now again. I know people's expectations were much higher than that when he was hired but he hasn't been bad at all. Only inferior to one program (edit: in conference of course, not nationally).

But the reason I would consider moving on if I was Jim is, we all know he's a proud University of Michigan guy, and if he hangs around for say, another 3-4 years, he may very well leave his beloved school 0-9 or 0-10 against Ohio State.

I mean think about that

[WingsFan]

I like Harbaugh, he needs to get the osu Monkey off his back. I give him 2 more years. Bo lost his first 5 Rose Bowls, then when he finally won one he went 5-5 in Bowls. You have the Dr Tom comparisons also, and Dabo took a few years... though he and Dr Tom are and were cheaters! - like osu

[WingsFan]

By the way if anyone doesn't think Harbugh has osu as his highest priority - His wife Sara said he has had nightmares after the osu games and is talking in his sleep, yelling at assistants.

[lineygoblue]

It's not even the best rivalry in the sport anymore, let alone in all of sports. I mean is it even the best rivalry in its own conference these days? How can it be? How it can it still be called a rivalry when one program has lost -- what is it now, 16 of the past 17?

The University of Michigan football program is property owned and operated by Ohio State. And Liney was right about the crowd -- absolutely incredible that Michigan can be 9-2 and playing their best football of the year (going into the game anyway) and damn near half or more of the stadium was red.

It's a rivalry in name and past history only.

I think all the red in the stadium hurts me just as much as losing the game does. That just didn't happen back when this was a true rivalry. Some season ticket holders are going to sell their tickets no matter what, because they want the $$ that OSU fans are willing to pay for their tickets. I get that. But its never been on a scale like this. I've never seen it in my lifetime. If this was going on in Columbus, they'd fire everybody from the University President all the way down to the night watchman. They'd never tolerate Michigan fans taking over their stadium. But in Michigan, we make them cozy and welcome, .. and our team treats them to another "W".

I have no idea how, but its got to stop.

[Whitley]

Liney, it will change when the people selling the tickets think that Michigan has an actual chance in the rivalry ie when it becomes a legit rivalry again.

[Jeff Buchanan]

talent, I appreciate the exchanges. You won't find me or anyone else here I would think curling up in a fetal ball. When you say,

The first sentence is fact. We have different perspectives about the causes. To a certain extent, JH does not have control. The Top 100 guys know what they have and will use that as leverage. The system begs for it, allows it and has no effective way to police what goes on.

I'm not telling you anything you don't fully understand. My view is that there are both systemic obstacles for M in CFB recruiting and there are elements of the recruiting game that Michigan can do a lot better job with. Your statement that "nothing is going to change" implies that the recruiting game will remain static. It won't and there are several reasons for that. Coaches of teams with a historical place in a consensus Top 25 know there is a concentration of elite players in the current Top 5 - and what amounts to a consensus Top 5 for the last decade or so - that makes it hard for them to compete on the field. That includes entrance to the CFB playoff. Harbaugh is not alone in complaints about the anti-competitive nature of CFB today.

The implications of NIL, as I've mentioned, are going to put pressure on the arcane NCAA amateurism rules. Change is coming. To what degree we don't know but changes are likely to bring payments and benefits out in the open and more than likely to promote some kind of realignment,maybe a two tier system and an expanded CFB playoff.

I can wait and I can wait with Harbaugh and see what the future brings.

[hack]

The biggest thing is about to change, in amateurism. It would not surprise me if OSU folks are already thinking about how to make this work for them in ways much deeper than Michigan people ever will. They are willing to get their hands dirty, metaphorically and for real, in ways that Michigan people simply cannot stomach. But make no mistake that the ability to pay players is a change that could help Michigan more than any other elite, once-elite, or potentially-elite program. Michigan could own this.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Michigan doesn't want head coaches. It wants museum curators.

[Niffla]

I think all the red in the stadium hurts me just as much as losing the game does. That just didn't happen back when this was a true rivalry. Some season ticket holders are going to sell their tickets no matter what, because they want the $$ that OSU fans are willing to pay for their tickets. I get that. But its never been on a scale like this. I've never seen it in my lifetime. If this was going on in Columbus, they'd fire everybody from the University President all the way down to the night watchman. They'd never tolerate Michigan fans taking over their stadium. But in Michigan, we make them cozy and welcome, .. and our team treats them to another "W".

I have no idea how, but its got to stop.

Yeah liney, when I saw that before kickoff was even underway it for some reason sapped a lot of the hype I had for the game right out of me. Then again I guess in a short matter of time the Buckeyes' roster would've sapped every ounce of that out of me anyway by kicking our ass all over the field, but still.

Of course their fans always show well and no matter what -- there was going to be a lot of red there, but that much? I swear it looked like a neutral field bowl game on TV. And at times it looked like they may have even had more red there than blue! I didn't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't that (I guess I was being naive) and that was really disappointing to see.

[hack]

Michigan doesn't want head coaches. It wants museum curators.

LOL. Perfect.

[WingsFan]

I swear it looked like a neutral field bowl game on TV. And at times it looked like they may have even had more red there than blue!

Yes it did (from the highlights I seen)

[WingsFan]

This isn't a Jim Harbaugh problem. We are even with the Bo days. This isn't Michigan being less than it was in the past. It's Ohio State being more. Michigan has never been elite and fans need to except that.

[Niffla]

This isn't a Jim Harbaugh problem. We are even with the Bo days. This isn't Michigan being less than it was in the past. It's Ohio State being more. Michigan has never been elite and fans need to except that.

Yep. Took me a really, really long time to finally come to terms with that, but at this point in my life that's where I'm at.

It's a second tier football programs (heck they may even be third tier). And that's not a slam, by the way. There's a lot of programs that would kill to be on that tier. But yeah, this is not an elite program. The fan base likes to be think that they/we are, but the results are clear that it's not. I mean damn this program hasn't even been to a Big Ten Championship game since the inception of that. And lol when was the last time the program won a Big Ten title? It was so long ago that I've forgot.

[WM Wolverine]

Since Harbaugh was hired only six programs come out higher: Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Oklahoma, and Georgia from memory.

[Dr. Strangelove]

2003 was the last Big10 title

EDIT: Sorry, 2004. 2003 was the last time Michigan won it outright