HOUSTON — Outside of Ann Arbor, and the Michigan alumni community, the Wolverines’ national title won on Monday evening under coach Jim Harbaugh will always be cloaked in barnacles, sludge and grease.
Sorry, Michigan, this is the way these things work. Ask the Houston Astros.
“It couldn’t have gone better. It went exactly how we wanted it to go,” Harbaugh said late Monday night after his team won the national championship. “Off the field we stood strong and tall and we knew we were innocent. I just want to point that out.”
Thanks, Coach, for your refreshing candor.
“These guys were innocent,” he said. “Yeah. Overcome that? It isn’t that hard because we knew we were innocent. It went exactly how we wanted it to go.”
People in Michigan will believe this. Will buy it no matter the cost. People outside of Michigan will spit this out faster than a 4 oz. cup of rotten milk.
Of course, by the time you read this there is a better than 50/50 chance Harbaugh has agreed to become the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Maybe the L.A. Chargers. The Carolina Panthers. The Washington Whatevers.
Harbaugh’s No. 1 Michigan Wolverines are at last national champions, thanks to their 34-13 win over No. 2 Washington in Houston. This is Michigan’s first national title since it finished 12-0 under Lloyd Carr in 1997.
One week after destroying Texas in the Sugar Bowl, Heisman Trophy runner-up, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. played more like the backup pressed into the starter’s role.
He missed open receivers. The same receivers suffered from a terrible case of the drops, one of which should have been a touchdown in the first half. The other would have resulted in a crucial first down in the second half.
After a terrible first quarter in which its defense allowed two long touchdown runs and nearly 180 yards on the ground, Washington hung around to make this interesting well into the fourth quarter.
But Michigan eventually wore down the Huskies, and finished the season 15-0.
Harbaugh can now leave his alma mater to his preferred destination, the NFL. He never really wanted to leave the NFL in the first place, after the 2014 season when he left San Francisco for Ann Arbor.
Inside the substantial University of Michigan community, and everyone who loves the Wolverines, Harbaugh’s tenure will be regarded as a heroic, unqualified success. The former player returned to his college roots to put it on Ohio State, and to win a national title.
Done and done.
This feels like LeBron James returning to his hometown of Cleveland to lead the Cavaliers to an NBA title, and then leaving for the beach in Los Angeles.
There is one glaring difference. Unlike LeBron’s return to Cleveland, there is no scandal. No investigations of cheating. No accusations of anything.
“This team went through so much adversity this year,” Michigan running back Donovan Edwards said on the field after the game.
Yes. Most of it self inflicted.
There is that notice of allegations sent by the NCAA to the University of Michigan for potential violations committed during the COVID-19 period. Inside the Michigan community, these pesky little infractions are overblown, and nothing more than a result of a needless witch hunt.
Michigan served up Harbaugh to serve a three-game suspension earlier this year to demonstrate they take NCAA crime seriously (don’t worry; they don’t).
Bet all of your money that nothing will come of these NCAA violations; the NCAA has become the Washington Generals in court.
Then there is the sign-stealing scandal that will forever be attached to this era of Michigan football; no different than the New England Patriots and “Spygate,” and “Deflategate.” It is a funny coincidence that Michigan’s most famous football alum is none other than former Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady.
It is a nice coincidence that Michigan won its title here at NRG Stadium, which is only a few miles away from the home of another team whose achievements are sullied with cheating — the Houston Astros.
How serious this sign-stealing controversy is depends on where you live, and or how much money you have riding on Michigan games.
On the field after the game, as players celebrated amid falling confetti and hugged parents and loved ones, none of these people thought about NCAA allegations, or sign stealing. In their minds, they are all national champions.
If you live in Columbus, Ohio, or East Lansing, Mich., what Harbaugh and his staff have done is worse than Pete Rose betting on baseball, or Barry Bonds using a wide array of steroids to break Hank Aaron’s record.
If you are a Michigan Man, and or a Michigan alum, what Harbaugh and his staff did is just an example of sophisticated gamesmanship. Nothing more. Just ball coaches being ball coaches.
Just a team looking for an advantage to do the most important thing in higher education: Win football games.
Few teams won football games any better these last three seasons than Michigan. The Wolverines are 40-3 in the last three years with three straight playoff appearances; UM finished 28-1 in 2022 and ‘23 combined, with its lone loss coming against TCU in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl.
By any metric, what Harbaugh and Michigan accomplished in these last three years is a great run. This is a good team that is well coached loaded with good players.
Also, these Wolverines are a little dirty, too.
How dirty depends on where you live, and just how much you hate Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan.