The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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82 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2017 J im Harbaugh has been known for taking several seconds to answer questions at press conferences, thinking about what he wants to say or how he wants to respond. It took the Michigan head coach only a cou‑ ple when asked at Big Ten media days in Chicago if there was anything he'd have done differently in U‑M's 30‑27, double‑overtime loss to Ohio State. "The pass from our own end zone," he said, referring to an inter‑ ception returned for touchdown that changed the game. A blown protection caused quar‑ terback Wilton Speight's arm to get hit, OSU's Jerome Baker returned it to the 13‑yard line and the Buckeyes scored to cut a 17‑7 deficit to 17‑14 late in the third quarter. The play was one of several that had to go Ohio State's way for the Buckeyes to steal a controversial win. The penalties were one‑sided, as Harbaugh pointed out in the postgame — and in Chicago, even OSU media tried to get Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer to admit quarterback J.T. Barrett was short on a fourth‑down run in the second overtime, a play that would have given the Wolverines the win. The officials saw it differently, however, and the result was a fifth straight OSU win over U‑M, and the 12th in the last 13 meetings. "One play," Big Ten analyst How‑ ard Griffith said in Chicago. "That's all it was. We see now, that was a loaded [Michigan] roster. It might be a few years before Michigan is at that [OSU] level, but they're right on schedule. Ohio State has more talent if you look at it on paper, but Michi‑ gan is right there." The Wolverines are also extremely young, with very little experience returning … much the way the Buck‑ eyes were last year when they lost only one regular‑season game on the way to the College Football Playoff, pulling out an improbable win over U‑M along the way. That's what Michigan should aspire to this year — no ifs, ands or buts. The last quarter decade of the rivalry has been a strange one, with OSU head coach John Cooper going 2‑10‑1 against the Wolverines before the school fired him, selling their soul to replace him with Jim Tressel. His she‑ nanigans — which eventually got him fired, too — led to a 9‑1 record against Michigan, and to where we are today. Harbaugh knows this is a big year on the rivalry front, and there's been talk that the last 10 minutes of each practice will now be dedicated to OSU. If true, it's reminiscent of the great Bo Schembechler's last press conference before his 2006 death, when he admitted the Buckeyes were always — always — on his mind. "People ask if we prepared during the season for Ohio State," he said. "Every day!" Schembechler finished 5‑4‑1 against his mentor, the late Woody Hayes, in a back‑and‑forth 10‑year war of games that — for the most part — could have gone either way. It's past time to get back to that type of rivalry, and Griffith believes it can, starting this year. "They lost a lot of players, but they have athletes," he said of the Wolver‑ ines. "… You look at what they're do‑ ing, and they're recruiting at a high level. It's only a matter of time." There's no reason they can't beat OSU this year, he added. And he's right. The game is at home, the Wolverines will be extremely hun‑ gry and many of the same players return on the lines from those who played in last year's game, when U‑M notched eight sacks and pres‑ sured Barrett relentlessly. Harbaugh told The Detroit News this fall he often wondered what Schembechler, his former coach, would think of the job he was doing. "I'd want to know," he said. "I'd like to think he would think I was doing a good job. The thing we all look back on, and I speak for my‑ self, but I'm so thankful, so obliged when I think that to be tested by Bo was the making of my soul." Now it's time to test his own play‑ ers, knowing Schembechler would probably judge him by how he fared in The Game. By game 12, much of the young talent on this squad will have gotten more than just their feet wet on the playing field. It's time they bring the one that matters most home and get the rivalry back to normal … and it says here they will. ❏ Chris Balas has been with The Wolver- ine since 1997, working part time for five years before joining the staff full time in 2002. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @Balas_Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN CHRIS BALAS Beat The Bucks The Wolverines have lost five straight games — and 12 of the last 13 — versus Ohio State. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL