The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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DECEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 27 a rough beginning under Harbaugh. He admitted he considered transfer- ring and had made up his mind be- fore receiver and friend Drake Harris, among others, convinced him to stay. He put in his time, took advantage of Harbaugh's tutelage and has emerged as one of the Big Ten's best. "His play tells me what you need to know about this staff," Karsch said. "Harbaugh, [offensive coordinator] Tim Drevno and [passing game coor- dinator] Jedd Fisch, what they can do with a quarterback … "The Iowa people I talked to couldn't believe what Harbaugh did with Jake Rudock. The Michigan people think back to how they felt about Wilton Speight before this year and can't be- lieve they're watching the same guy." Should O'Korn step in down the stretch and the offense not miss a beat — and should the Wolverines win with him in Columbus — the legend will only grow. SPRINT TO THE FINISH Dienhart thought it would take three to four years to "really have that place humming" based on Harbaugh's track record going back to the University of San Diego. He admitted he sold Har- baugh short. "Obviously, the Stanford turn- around to me was epic," he said of Harbaugh's tenure there. "Of course, the [San Francisco] 49ers' run. At none of those places did it take too long to work his magic, so why should we have thought it would be any different at Michigan? "But two years? That was faster than people thought. The man might be considered the best coach of his gen- eration when it's all said and done in his career." These are the kinds of stories that keep Michigan in the forefront in terms of recruiting, Simpkins added. Student- athletes are lining up to come to Michi- gan, he noted, and kids want to play in a program that's progressive, for a coach and coaching staff that is going to get them ready for the next level. The next step, Dienhart said — get the Ohio State monkey off their back and win a Big Ten title for the first time since 2004. "I think it's getting closer and closer with each recruiting class," he said. "This is Urban Meyer's fifth year, so he has a little bit more of a head start getting his players in the system and involved. Even having said that, it's hard to decipher much difference be- tween those teams this year. "Harbaugh's also got to get a na- tional championship, and he seems to be on course for all those things. Alabama is the standard right now. It's their world, and everybody is living in it. But in a few years, I see Michigan competing right there with them." If that happens, Harbaugh's place as a Michigan legend will have been secured. ❏ Michigan hasn't needed a lot of "bounce-back" seasons in the last 50-plus years, but there have been a handful. Here are the most impressive turnarounds in recent memory: 1964: Head coach Bump Elliott's 1962 and '63 teams had struggled to 2-7 and 3-4-2 records and weren't favored to win the Big Ten in 1964, but quarterback Bob Timberlake, captain Jim Conley and an impressive supporting cast ripped off a 9-1 season, capping it with a 10-0 win at Ohio State and a 34-7 Rose Bowl win over Oregon State. They finished No. 4 nationally. 1985: A disastrous, injury-plagued 1984 season, lowlighted by quarterback Jim Harbaugh's loss to a broken arm in a home setback against Michigan State, left the Wolverines out of the preseason top 20 polls the following year. The team responded to finish 10-1-1 and No. 2 na- tionally following a Fiesta Bowl win over Nebraska, with Jim Harbaugh leading the way at quarterback and the defense — the nation's best in the regular season, al- lowing only 6.9 points per game — domi- nating throughout. 1980: Bo Schembechler's team finished No. 18 and 19 in the final polls of 1979 but lost four games, including the last three of the season. The 1980 squad dropped two of its first three, making it five losses in a six-game stretch and leaving many wondering if U-M was on the decline. The Wolverines regrouped behind a dominant defense that didn't allow a touchdown in its last five games, finishing 10-2 and No. 4 na- tionally after a 23-6 Rose Bowl win over Washington. 1997: The Wolverines went from preseason No. 14 — com- ing off an 8-4, No. 20 finish in 1996 — to undefeated national champions, finishing the 12-0 campaign with a 21-16 Rose Bowl win over Washington State. Quar- terback Brian Griese directed a steady offense, and the defense, paced by Heis- man Trophy winner Charles Woodson, dominated opponents from start to finish to give the Wolverines their first national title in 50 years. 2015: Harbaugh's first season resulted in a 10-3 record following a bowl-less 2014 campaign. The Wolverines were a dropped punt snap away from beating eventual Big Ten champion Michigan State and ended the season No. 11 na- tionally (coaches) after a 41-7 shellacking of Florida in the Citrus Bowl. The five-win improvement was the best since the 1964 team's emergence. 2006: An injury-riddled 2005 season ended with a thud, an Alamo Bowl loss to Nebraska that many believed put Michi- gan at a crossroads. The Wolverines re- sponded with a dominant first 11 games and were No. 2 nationally before losing their final pair of contests, a 42-39 setback at Ohio State and a 32-18 Rose Bowl loss to USC. They still finished No. 9 overall. 2011: Michigan finished 7-5 in 2010, losing 52-13 to Mis- sissippi State in the Gator Bowl, leading to head coach Rich Rodriguez' firing. Brady Hoke and a determined senior class led the Wolverines to an 11-2 season and a victory in the Sugar Bowl over Virginia Tech, propelling U-M to its first top-10 finish in five years (No. 9 in the coaches' poll). Brady Hoke took over a program that went 7-5 in its final year under Rich Rodriguez and finished 11-2 in 2011, but he could not sus- tain that first-year success. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Most Impressive U-M Turnarounds In The Last 60 Years