COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Before Michigan even took the field Saturday afternoon, Jim Harbaugh and his players knew the deal.
Michigan State was on the proverbial ropes, taking one knockout blow after another en route to an ugly 56-7 loss to Ohio State, delivering the Wolverines exactly what they needed. A loss not only separated the two in-state rivals in the Big Ten East Division standings, but opened the door for Michigan to play a winner-takes-all game against the Buckeyes next Saturday, Nov. 27, in Ann Arbor.
Michigan not only held up its end of the bargain with a 59-18 rout of Maryland before a sparse crowd at Maryland Stadium, but did so in spectacular fashion. All three phases — offense, defense and special teams — scored. Running back Donovan Edwards had a breakout game.
It was the kind of performance that had players (and Harbaugh) feeling good afterward.
“This team’s right where we want to be,” starting quarterback Cade McNamara said. “We were hoping (Michigan State would lose) — and now that we got the opportunity … this game is going to influence the season and really show how far this team can go.
“I don’t think we would have it any other way.”
More: A breakout game for Michigan RB Donovan Edwards, catching the ball
The road has been difficult and winding for Michigan, a team projected by most preseason prognosticators to finish third in the division. The Wolverines were coming off a disastrous 2-4 season in 2020 that prompted plenty of change in Harbaugh, both with his coaching staff and approach. Grand change happened. Older players returned refreshed and rejuvenated for one more go of it. And results began almost immediately.
“That was everything that was planned, built for,” Harbaugh said. “All the energy that was put in since way back in early-2021, January-February. All the things that the guys have done — the coaches have done — has put us in this position we wanted to be in.”
Michigan has found a way to turn a first-year starting quarterback, experienced offensive line and young receiving corps into a top-30 offense. Meanwhile, a defensive unit that plummeted in the national rankings last season has returned to form with first-year coordinator Mike Macdonald, who’s accentuated his personnel’s positives and used schematic techniques to hide the negatives.
The results have been everything Michigan had hoped for and then some. The Wolverines jumped out to a 4-0 start, scored a culture-defining win at Wisconsin and rode the wave of momentum to a 7-0 start.
“Everybody know (the message),” defensive tackle Mazi Smith said. “Got to go execute, got to go do what you’re supposed to do, day by day, and that’s the only way you’re going to get to the top of the hill.”
More: Overheard outside Michigan’s locker room: ‘We want to win all the marbles’
The lone blemish, however, was a big one. Michigan dropped a 37-33 game to the rival Spartans on Oct. 30 in East Lansing, a game Harbaugh’s team led by 16 points in the third quarter. But struggles inside the red zone and Heisman Trophy contender Kenneth Walker III proved to be too much, allowing MSU to rally for a late victory. It was Michigan’s first real blow in a season that included a magical comeback win at Nebraska and convincing victories over Big Ten home wreckers Indiana and Northwestern.
Michigan has rattled off three straight wins since — the dominating performance over Indiana, another character-defining road win at Penn State and Saturday against a mistake-prone Maryland team, raising the stakes for the nation’s biggest college football rivalry.
“I don’t think we’re going to need to talk about how excited and how much this game is going to mean to us,” McNamara said. “But I think we don’t need to do anything different during the week. I’m going to expect that we’re going to have our best week of practice this week.”
By now, everyone knows the wide gap in the rivalry. Ohio State’s won eight straight games over the Wolverines and 15 of the last 16 meetings — some by razor-thin margins, many others not. The last couple of games have been blowouts, setting the stage for Michigan’s offseason reset. Harbaugh made the moves he thought would better his football program and position it to be competitive again. Signs began appearing inside the football building with Ohio State on them. The team began a regular “Beat Ohio” drill.
It’s why the 57-year-old head coach appeared unfazed over the summer when he was peppered with questions about the Ohio State rivalry. Harbaugh was obsessed with trying to get Michigan up the mountain and over top. Now that he’s back, he isn’t ready to back down.
“We want to finish it,” Harbaugh said. “We want to win all the marbles. We’re in the position we want to be in. We’ve been preparing for this, really, the entire year. And now we bring that preparation to life this week — to play for it all.”
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For Jim Harbaugh and Michigan, Ohio State is top of mind again - mlive.com
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