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Michigan against the world? Give me Michigan. And it’s (mostly) not about Jim Harbaugh.

Luke Glusco

By Luke Glusco

Published:

Jim Harbaugh’s work is done. Michigan is ready.

The Wolverines (10-0, 7-0) served notice of their intentions last weekend at Penn State. Those intentions being to run the Big Ten table, return to the CFP and win that sucker. Then thumb their nose at Stephen A. Smith, Paul Finebaum and anyone else questioning their legitimacy.

With the world — or at least the B1G and NCAA — against them, nothing short of perfection will do for this band of brothers. And they’re totally capable of delivering it.

Michigan doesn’t need grand schemes on offense or defense, though it has some of those.

It doesn’t need freakish athletes at key skill positions, though it has plenty of those.

What Michigan needs in the quest for its first national title since 1997, it has in droves: No 1: badass behemoths in the trenches. No. 2: humble individuals, collective swagger. No. 3: a bond among players and staff so deep and authentic it defies belief in this age of mercenary players chasing NIL dollars. No. 4: the martyr complex, i.e. emotional fuel.

Whatever it takes: The players

No one at Michigan will be winning the Heisman this season. The most likely candidates, QB JJ McCarthy and RB Blake Corum, couldn’t care less.

Corum, a serious contender last year, stands about 550 yards off last season’s 10-game pace. But Saturday at Penn State, in Michigan’s first major test of 2023, he posted season highs of 26 carries for 145 yards. It was only his second 100-yard game of this season after posting 8 straight last year prior to getting injured against Illinois.

“I didn’t come back for stats, I didn’t come back for TDs, I came back for these guys,” Corum said on the field at Beaver Stadium in a postgame TV interview. “I came back to win.”

McCarthy followed Corum in the on-field interview line, grinning ear to ear. That, after finishing 7-for-8 passing for 60 yards. On the same day LSU’s Jayden Daniels tallied 606 yards of total offense, McCarthy put up 94. Let Daniels or Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr. hoists the Heisman. Michigan’s 2nd-year starter has another trophy in mind.

Ditto leading receiver Roman Wilson. Ditto top receiving tight end Colston Loveland. Ditto No. 2 RB Donovan Edwards. Ditto the o-line, including 6th-year veteran 6th man Trente Jones, who helped make the heavy package go in the 24-15 beatdown of the Nittany Lions.

Ditto the entire defense, which held Penn State to 238 yards and got its offensive coordinator fired within 24 hours. Michigan still leads the nation in scoring (7.5 ppg) and total defense (232.1 ypg).

Whatever it takes: The staff

Sherrone Moore, OC and acting head coach last Saturday, called only 1 pass play over the game’s final 36+ minutes. That play didn’t count, thanks to a DPI call, so officially, Michigan ran on 32 straight plays to close out the Nittany Lions. Whether that was solely Moore’s call or came as a pregame suggestion from Harbaugh, it was brilliant. Penn State has blazing fast edge rushers and ranks 3rd in the country in sacks. What better way to neutralize a pass rush than to simply not pass?

Extreme? Yes. Not likely to work against Ohio State? Probably. But, man, that takes some stones and a lot of faith in the personnel.

Moore could take that approach because Jesse Minter runs the best defense in the country. A Broyles Award finalist last year, Minter should win the 75-pound trophy that goes to the nation’s top assistant this year. His unit hasn’t given up a third-quarter point all season. That’s crazy good, against any schedule.

During Harbaugh’s 3-game, university-imposed suspension to start the season, RBs coach and favorite son Mike Hart shared coaching duties with special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh for 1 game, and Moore and Minter took the lead role once each.

Does any program share the glory and the burdens more than this one?

Whatever it takes: The chip on the shoulder

Jim Harbaugh is working this situation for all it’s worth.

Whether Michigan’s hand-picked, seemingly interest-conflicted judge grants an injunction to allow the coach to be on the sidelines at Maryland on Saturday and at the Big House vs. Ohio State on Nov. 25, Harbaugh wins. He’s already won.

Facts be damned, the whole UM community is rushing to the defense of its quirky, 9th-year head coach. He is a Michigan Man, after all, and these insults won’t stand inside The Mitten.

It’s not that Michigan isn’t guilty of something relating to former staffer Connor Stalions’ illegal scouting and sign-stealing escapades. Michigan did get an unfair advantage at times during the past 2 seasons. And punishing Harbaugh for the sins of another isn’t beyond the pale. NCAA rules state the head coach is responsible for all those under him and the entire operation. Plausible deniability isn’t an issue here.

What is at issue? The nature of the punishment.

The Big Ten, in banning Harbaugh from the sidelines for the final 3 games of the season, publicly shamed him and the entire university. Harbaugh can still coach throughout the week. In that regard, it’s not much of a penalty. Harbaugh has already proven 4 times this season that he can prepare his players and staff to enter stadiums without him on game days.

It stretches credulity to think Stalions convinced Michigan’s coaches that he was stealing signs as some sort of in-game savant, rather than ahead of time. But that seems to be UM’s contention.

The school’s other contention is that no opponent will be fooled or compromised going forward, and its players should be allowed to reap the rewards of their hard work. Beat Ohio State for a 3rd straight time, on a level playing field, and this squad deserves a 3rd straight trip to the College Football Playoff.

Unlike earlier in the season, Harbaugh has his superiors — AD Warde Manuel and president Santa Ono — fully on board to do what Michigan does best: play defense. The school has gone as far as threatening to leave the Big Ten and excoriating the conference for a rash decision.

Meanwhile, the 59-year-old Harbaugh spent Monday at his aloof, dryly comedic best, talking about seeking due process, raising chickens and leading the college version of America’s Team.

In the parlance of old-school pro wrestling, Harbaugh is willing to play the baby face or the heel, whatever gets the crowd stirred up. National loudmouths Smith and Finebaum took the bait and took their shots.

Hero or anti-hero? It works either way. Chants of “Free Jim Harbaugh” were rocking Madison Square Garden during a Wolverines basketball game Monday night. Poor, persecuted, misunderstood Michigan. America’s Team? You bet. This nation embraced Dexter for 8 seasons. Dark heroes are fun when the good guys are dweebs.

Anyone who saw Moore’s sobbing postgame love ode to Harbaugh — and similar adorations from various players — know there are several dozen Michigan Men who will run through walls for the former Wolverines quarterback turned enigmatic head coach.

Don’t mess around with Jim. Our Jim. Teflon Jim.

All teams try to spin an “Us against the World” narrative out of whole cloth, but most squads don’t completely believe their own constructions or rallying cries.

This one does.

Luke Glusco

Luke Glusco is a Penn State graduate and veteran journalist. He covers Penn State and occasionally writes about other Big Ten programs and topics. He also serves as the primary copy editor for Saturday Tradition.