During the first five seasons of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor, his Wolverines were winning 9-10 games a season; yet, they continued to fall short in two key areas: he couldn’t beat Ohio State or win a bowl game. While the latter has not changed (yet), the Wolverines have done a 180 in their rivalry with the Buckeyes, now riding a two-game winning streak into this year’s matchup. But what changed in the Michigan football vs. Ohio State rivalry?
What changed for Jim Harbaugh in the Michigan football vs. Ohio State rivalry?
On Thursday — Big Ten Media Day — at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN, Jim Harbaugh had a chance to comment on the Michigan football-Ohio State rivalry and how he got things back on track for the Maize and Blue.
“Lot of little — a lot of things,” Jim Harbaugh said of his recent success in the Michigan football vs. Ohio State rivalry. “A lot of little things that people think are minutiae. It’s really 1,000 little things.”
After losing five straight against the Buckeyes, Michigan football turned everything around in 2021, beating Ohio State by 15 points before winning the Big Ten. Since then, the Wolverines have been the team to beat in the Big Ten, having won two straight conference championships and more heading into the 2023 season.
“It’s the work,” Jim Harbaugh continued. “We always — if you ever analyzed it and took it apart you’d understand that it’s the work, the compiled work.”
This decade, Michigan football is undefeated in ‘The Game’ and has a total score of 87-50 — not bad after Ryan Day said that he was going to “hang 100” on the Wolverines a few years back.
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