Jim Harbaugh always used to say there was an even competition for the starting quarterback job at Michigan. There were never really any battles for the position, though. Harbaugh always knew who his top guy would be before camp even started. The idea of a “competition” was nothing more than coach speak, really.

Jake Rudock in 2015. Wilton Speight in 2016 and 2017.  Shea Patterson in 2018 and 2019.

The backups would get mentioned here and there, but it was always clear that Harbaugh was loyal to his starter — some would say he was stubborn, to a fault.

This season, it was readily apparent that Joe Milton was going to be the top gun for the Wolverines. After an absolutely solid debut as a starter against Minnesota, Milton — who’s been in Harbaugh’s system for 3 years — looked like he would be able to play the part.

This past Saturday, Milton basically unseated himself as QB1 during the Wolverines’ 49-11 home loss to Wisconsin, which picked off Milton’s first two passing attempts en route to posting a 28-0 lead at the break. In the third quarter, redshirt freshman Cade McNamara got the nod, completing 4 of 7 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown — a well-thrown 23-yard strike to WR Mike Sainristil.

With exception for injury, Harbaugh has never been forced to switch QBs at Michigan. He’s played others for the sake of reps, but he’s never reopened the competition once the season started.

Well, that’s going to change.

And really, it has to change if the Wolverines want to develop their next starter — or get Milton on track so that way there doesn’t have to be a competition for the top job next year.

“We’re going to open it up — there will be competition,” said Harbaugh, who’s never said such a thing during the middle of the season since arriving in Ann Arbor in 2015. “Both (Milton and McNamara) will see action with the 1s throughout the week.”

During his debut in mop-up duty vs. Minnesota, McNamara went 0-for-3 passing as the Wolverines confidently rode through the 4th quarter. Milton had already helped put the game out of reach, so McNamara was rewarded with some reps. Nothing special, but they were reps.

On Saturday, the 6-foot-1, 205-pounder showed some promise. Sure, they were just 7 attempts. But, in all honesty, that 23-yard touchdown to Sainristil was one of UM’s better passing plays of the season. Kind of sad, right? But that’s the world in which Michigan lives these days. There haven’t been many positive moments, so take the 23-yard pass for what it’s worth: It was either a breakthrough moment for a young quarterback, or it was just one play that didn’t mean much.

Take your pick.

Right now, Harbaugh has to save his season. He has to develop a quarterback. Milton’s quick start and three-week fizzle boggles the mind. He went from being poised vs. the Gophers to admitting he had “happy feet” vs. Michigan State, all the way to throwing a pair of INTs before even completing a pass to one of his own guys this past weekend vs. the Badgers.

If there ever was a time for Harbaugh to make a switch, it’s now. Michigan needs some confidence at the position, and Milton has clearly lost his mojo from Week 1. Powerful arm, athletic — but just not ready to lead the way.

Detractors would say that McNamara has only thrown 10 balls in his collegiate career. They’d mention how Harbaugh has always stuck with his guy, or they’d say that Milton was the starter for a reason — so there’s no way anyone else is better equipped.

Those arguments held ground during the past. Speight wasn’t ready in 2015 to lead the way. Rudock, a transfer from Iowa, was absolutely the right pick. In 2016, Speight had a couple of hiccups and fans cried for John O’Korn to become the starter. O’Korn played, but he was only the starter due to Speight’s injury. The JOK experiment miserably failed.

Any other year, it’d be smart to trust Harbaugh’s judgment when it comes to the starting QB. Any other year, it’d be easy to chalk things up as growing pains for a first-year starter. Speight had them. Patterson had them. But they were able to overcome obstacles, at least enough to maintain their position as the top QB.

This year is different. Michigan is 1-3 for the first time since 1967. UM has lost three games in painful fashion: 27-23 at home to an unranked MSU that had just lost to Rutgers, then 38-21 on the road vs. then-No. 13 Indiana and now, finally, 49-11 to the No. 13 Badgers in The Big House.

He’s never budged after naming the starting QB in Ann Arbor. Normally, he’d never have to do that.

But this is 2020, a year everyone wants to forget — including Michigan football and its fans. Something drastic needs to be done. Harbaugh must give McNamara the reins of the offense or risk further damage, not only record-wise, but also because the coach hasn’t produced his own star quarterback — a player he recruited out of HS — in 6 years. Milton was supposed to be that guy; maybe it’s McNamara. Harbaugh needs to find out, and the process should start Saturday night at Rutgers.

Going against the grain is the only option for the Wolverines. If Milton isn’t their future, they have to go to the next guy on the depth chart and hope that he’s the one for 2021.