After the Michigan Wolverines blew a 16-point lead to Michigan State, I called for Jim Harbaugh to be relieved of his duties as head coach. However, now I must come back and admit that I was wrong.
Once the final whistle blew in the interstate rivalry, I threw in the towel on what was an impressive season because a battle against Ohio State still lays ahead.
When Ohio State clobbered Michigan State, people became nervous, myself included. Then on Nov. 27, the Buckeyes traveled to Ann Arbor.
Although I desperately wanted a win, I wasn’t sure that the streak of losses would end after eight long years. With all of Harbaugh’s failures against his rivals swirling in my head, I pessimistically turned on the game.
Quickly the Wolverines went ahead and never let up, riding a legendary performance from senior running Hassan Haskins. At the end of the day, Haskins had five touchdowns and destroyed their biggest foe 42-27.
Unlike previous years, where we would jump out front and let our opponent storm back. That wasn’t the case this year, at halftime, Harbaugh and his staff made the necessary adjustments to silence the Buckeyes' offensive attack.
Now Michigan fans are in a position they’ve never faced. Everyone is guzzling the Kool-aid, as they should be, with the Wolverines locking up an outright Big Ten Championship after dog walking Iowa 42-3 in Indianapolis, Indiana on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The Wolverines now sit at 12-1 and are preparing for their first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff. Where, as the number two seed, they will face-off against Georgia on Dec. 31 in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
For most of the season, Georgia remained firmly planted as the one seed going into the CFP semi-finals. However, they suffered a stunning defeat to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Championship Saturday.
The Bulldogs loss shook up the CFP rankings, vaulting Alabama past the Wolverines and into the top spot.
The Crimson Tide will battle the No. 4 seed Cincinnati Bearcats on Dec. 31, following the Georgia/Michigan game.
No matter what comes out of the semifinal matchups, I believe it is time to pay Harbaugh in the range of the other head coaches at big-time programs. Not only did Harbaugh take a pay cut at the beginning of the 2021 season, but he has also donated his bonus money to people within the University of Michigan community affected by COVID-19.
He is a Michigan man through and through, because of this he should be allowed to retire at the University, and cement his name amongst the likes of Lloyd Carr and Bo Schembechler.
I would love to put a caveat on this and say, "National Championship or bust." But that isn't ultimately fair to the season this Wolverines team has put together.
With that in mind, I will be hammering the Michigan money-line because the Bulldogs aren't going to be able to handle the Wolverines' dynamic running back duo of Haskins and Blake Corum.
You heard it here first, WOLVERINES BY A BOATLOAD!!!