Jim Harbaugh didn’t want to just win, evidently. The Michigan coach wanted to make a statement vs. Wisconsin at Camp Randall, where the Wolverines hadn’t won since 2001.

The 2-point conversion midway through the 4th quarter was a clear example of Harbaugh and Michigan’s desire to prove themselves to the rest of the college football world — and they did with a 38-17 victory over Wisconsin, which looks lost after 2 straight lopsided setbacks.

Not only did Harbaugh go for 2 to gain a 31-10 lead, but he also chose to have freshman QB JJ McCarthy air it out — probably just for the sake of doing so — to WR Daylen Baldwin for a 56-yard touchdown that really put an exclamation point on the afternoon.

Michigan is for real.

It’s time to give it some respect.

Now at 5-0, the No. 14-ranked Wolverines have to be a favorite to compete for the top spot in the Big Ten East. They also have to be looked at as a true contender for a conference championship.

Five wins in a row.

The past two weren’t their prettiest, either.

The 20-13 edging of Rutgers left a lot to be desired. It was an ugly win, but it still counted.

For the majority of Saturday’s game with Wisconsin, Michigan didn’t appear to be at its best — but timely plays in the fourth quarter put the game out of reach.

It was pretty much decided by time DL Christopher Hinton came up with a fumble recovery midway through the final quarter, scooping the dropped ball by Badgers QB Chase Wolf, but that play really sealed the deal.

The rest of the big plays were just cherries on top of the sundae.

Following Hinton’s fumble recovery, safety Daxton Hill picked off Wolf, basically adding insult to injury in the eyes of the Badgers, who were able to fight back a little with a late touchdown.

Winning its first Big Ten game of the season was a mini-milestone for Michigan. Winning at Camp Randall was a larger leap in the right direction. And again, 5 consecutive victories speaks volumes about the potential of this year’s edition of UM football.

Saturday was a good day for Michigan.

With that said, it’s time to pass out some grades for its impressive win.

Offense: A-

Michigan trotted out Cade McNamara and JJ McCarthy at QB. McNamara looked good and so did McCarthy.

Stat-wise, it wasn’t a blockbuster outing for McNamara — but he still completed 17 of 28 passes for 197 yards and 2 TDs, both of which went to WR Cornelius Johnson (54 yards, 13 yards). McCarthy only threw the ball once, but it was a 56-yard TD strike to WR Daylen Baldwin.

The running game wasn’t at full-tilt but did enough to wear down the Badgers. Blake Corum and Hassan Haskins didn’t even break the 50-yard mark, but they served as a great balance for the Wolverines, who threw the ball 31 times — nearly double the single-game tallies from the first 4 weeks of the season.

After going run-heavy through September, the Wolverines showed that they’re capable of moving the ball through the air.

The O-line didn’t allow a sack and dictated the tempo for most of the second half, allowing the Wolverines to get comfortable and open up the playbook.

Defense: A-

Hinton’s fumble recovery and Hill’s INT were turning points of the afternoon. Hill’s pick was UM’s second of the season.

Badgers QB Graham Mertz didn’t look even-keeled, and his backup Chase Wolf didn’t appear to be on top of his game, either.

UM linebacker David Ojabo had his best game in a maize and blue uniform, leading the way with a team-high 7 tackles (2.5 TFL). He was a constant threat in the backfield and was always in the face of the Badgers’ QBs.

The usual suspects such as DE Aidan Hutchinson and LB Josh Ross were also key contributors. Hutchinson only had 3 tackles and 1 QB hurry/hit. However, he was double-teamed for much of the afternoon. His impact allowed others to shine, much in the same way the double-teaming of former star DE Rashan Gary worked for UM defenders in the past.

Other than a late 25-yard TD by Wisconsin TE Clay Cundiff, the Wolverines secondary didn’t give up anything of significance. Once gain turning in a solid performance, CB Vincent Gray looks to be on the fast track to fine-tuning his game.

Michigan’s run-defense was superb, only allowing bits and crumbs on the ground. Nobody on the Badgers roster rushed for more than 20 yards and the Wolverines only gave up only 43 total.

Special teams: B+

Well, if the game was going to be tight, a special teams play was going to be the deciding factor. But it wasn’t tight. Michigan opened it up in the second half.

AJ Henning, a WR, had 3 punt returns for 37 yards — a bit of drop-off from previous weeks … but he was still effective. Make no mistake, Wisconsin didn’t want to give him any chance of busting loose, so credit UW’s return coverage for holding Henning to modest numbers.

Jake Moody went 3-3 on field goals, highlighted by a 48-yarder.

Wisconsin didn’t register any punt return yards or kick return yards, so go ahead and tip your cap to UM’s coverage units as well.

Bottom line

If this win didn’t convince you that Michigan is for real, you might want to re-watch the game. The Wolverines didn’t run rampant like they had in previous weeks, but they did further expand on their passing game. All around, it was an easy A-grade victory for the Wolverines, who are 5-0 for the first time since 2016.

And guess what happened in 2016? Michigan went 9-0 before losing at Iowa and was considered as a legitimate Playoff-caliber team. Will things turn out the same way for these Wolverines? Well, it’s impossible to predict the future but they’re certainly on the right track.