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Harbaugh will be coaching a potentially powerful offense in 2023. Without checking, I'm pretty sure M had a pedestrian points per possession number. From my recollection M put together some impressive drives that either ended on 4th down from inside the opponent's 5 or a FG.
Harbaugh's approach to the game - a TE heavy passing game with the intent of possessing and getting repeated first downs from 3rd and shot type situations - is his MO. Has been for decades wherever he's coached. At M, stretching the field with capable receivers is an after thought and that approach partially explains why the 5* receiver types go elsewhere ..... that and M's approach to NIL. You can add a weakness in the long ball connection between just OK receivers and McCarthy's errant deep throws. JH is not likely to burn downs on that approach when the offense is capable of moving the ball according to HARBAUG!!! - it's what he does.
Certainly M has reached the final four the last two seasons beating up on BT opponents in that manner. Beating opponents M faces in the play-offs is another matter. The elimination losses to UGA and TCU in M's last two playoff appearances is less about defense and more about M's offense facing hard-ass run D's without a credible passing game to stretch the field keeping an opponent from bringing Ss up and into the box and/or keeping up with opponent big play scoring.
It's these factors that puts me in the same crowd that's predicting 11 wins in the regular season and the BT East title coming down to the M osu game in November. I don't think either of these two teams will be undefeated going into The Game. That could change for M if, out of the blue, McCarthy starts putting deep balls where unmolested receivers can turn those into game altering receptions.
Harbaugh's approach to the game - a TE heavy passing game with the intent of possessing and getting repeated first downs from 3rd and shot type situations - is his MO. Has been for decades wherever he's coached. At M, stretching the field with capable receivers is an after thought and that approach partially explains why the 5* receiver types go elsewhere ..... that and M's approach to NIL. You can add a weakness in the long ball connection between just OK receivers and McCarthy's errant deep throws. JH is not likely to burn downs on that approach when the offense is capable of moving the ball according to HARBAUG!!! - it's what he does.
Certainly M has reached the final four the last two seasons beating up on BT opponents in that manner. Beating opponents M faces in the play-offs is another matter. The elimination losses to UGA and TCU in M's last two playoff appearances is less about defense and more about M's offense facing hard-ass run D's without a credible passing game to stretch the field keeping an opponent from bringing Ss up and into the box and/or keeping up with opponent big play scoring.
It's these factors that puts me in the same crowd that's predicting 11 wins in the regular season and the BT East title coming down to the M osu game in November. I don't think either of these two teams will be undefeated going into The Game. That could change for M if, out of the blue, McCarthy starts putting deep balls where unmolested receivers can turn those into game altering receptions.
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